Airport passenger numbers continue to soar

Andrew Cowan

More than 1.78 million people passed through Manchester Airport’s three terminals last month, an increase of 7% on January 2018.

And it was a host of far flung destinations in sunnier climes that saw the biggest growth.

The number of people who jetted to Jamaica grew 19.5%, while in the Middle East 29.8% more passengers travelled to Qatar and 21% to Oman.

Meanwhile, the number of passengers heading out to Beijing with Hainan Airlines ahead of the Lunar New Year was up 11.7% versus January 2018, and Cathay Pacific’s Hong Kong route saw growth of 6.5%.

There was a 9.5% increase in the number of people travelling to Singapore.

Overall, it means more than 28.38 million passengers have used the UK’s third largest airport in the past 12 months.

Manchester Airport chief executive Andrew Cowan said: “January showed that our customers really appreciate the wide range of destinations we offer to them, meaning they have an unrivalled choice of places to visit for leisure or business all year round.

“We have worked hard over the years to secure routes to the likes of Beijing, Hong Kong, and Oman and it is really pleasing to see they are popular with passengers.

“As we continue to expand our network in 2019, we are also pressing ahead with the £1bn transformation of the airport and excitement is really building about the opening of the first new pier in April.

“It will offer an enhanced experience for the 22m passengers in our catchment area and the terminal extension will open the following year.”

During January, Manchester Airport announced plans for a new private terminal, which will be called PremiAir.

The new terminal will offer passengers a “private jet experience” while flying on commercial airlines.

The airport also retained its crown for Best UK Airport at the Travel Weekly Globe Awards last month. Voted for by travel agents, it’s the fifth consecutive year that Manchester Airport has walked away with the accolade.

Manchester Airport Group’s other two airports also grew year-on-year in January, with London Stansted growing 7.3% to welcome 1.93m passengers, and East Midlands Airport growing 1.2% to welcome 216,000 passengers.

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