Manchester Airport reports fresh passenger growth

MANCHESTER Airport is continuing to out-perform the UK market, with a
4.1% rise in passenger numbers in June to 2.1 million, compared with average UK growth of 3.2%.

The strong June figures, which airport bosses said was led by both scheduled and low cost growth, represented a 13th consecutive month of year-on-year passenger increases.

International scheduled flight traffic rose 9.4% in the month as new services such as EgyptAir’s service to Cairo launched while TAP Portugal announced an increase of weekly flights to Lisbon, taking them from seven a week to 10.

Manchester Airport said the latest stage of its ‘Fly Manchester’ campaign – which focuses on its low cost carrier credentials – had launched in June, and had also helped its growth,

Ken O’Toole, chief commercial officer for MAG, owners of Manchester Airport, said: “We’ve seen over a year of continued month-on-month growth now and the next few months will provide an additional boost as over 14 million passengers are expected to use Manchester Airport during the summer.

“We’re entering the full swing of the summer season and are expecting a further surge in passengers once the schools break up as millions of people fly away for a well-deserved break.”

The top five foreign destinations for this summer are currently Palma, Amsterdam, Dubai, Alicante and Tenerife. Bosses expect traffic to peak on August 23 with around 84,000 passengers are expected to travel on that day.