The latest figures from the CAA covered the period when international leisure travel started to reopen on 17 May with the launch of the government’s much-criticised traffic light system.

Second-quarter passenger numbers were nearly three million higher than during the first quarter of 2021 when international leisure travel was banned and there were just 3.4 million airline passengers.

There were 124,000 total passenger flights in the second quarter – up from just 81,000 flights in the first quarter of the year.

The CAA said that it expected “further recovery” in the number of passengers and flights over the key summer period between July and September.

“We are beginning to see an increase in international leisure travel, particularly across Portugal and Spain, as the travel sector looks to safely recover from the coronavirus pandemic,” added the aviation regulator.