Manchester’s passenger numbers rise again

MANCHESTER Airport had another strong month in November as passenger numbers rose 5.7% to 1.38 million.

The airport, which is number three in the UK in terms of passenger volumes behind Heathrow and Gatwick, is this month set to top its all-time record of 22 million passengers per year.

So far in 2014,  21,871,947 passengers have jetted out of Manchester. The top five international routes are Palma, Dalaman, Dubai, Tenerife and Dublin.

The growth also comes just days after the airport’s owner, MAG, announced the payment of a £31m interim dividend to shareholders, following strong financial performance driven by increases in both passenger numbers and commercial revenues.

Ken O’Toole, chief commercial officer at MAG the parent company of Manchester, Stansted, East Midlands and Bournemouth Airports, said: “Manchester Airport has been undergoing a rapid period of growth and we expect to reach, and then surpass, our peak figure of 22 million within the next few months. The addition of significant new routes, and our commitment to securing more long-haul services, will stand us in good stead to maintain this growth.

“As the airport grows it will continue to play a vital role in generating employment and commerce in the region. We continue to plan ahead for the future and as demonstrated with the multi-million pound expansion of security capacity, we are ensuring we invest in the right areas to handle the additional traffic.”