Record-breaking Summer for Manchester Airport

Manchester Airport has reported record levels of passenger throughput during its busiest-ever Summer season when more than 19.93 million people flew through the Northern hub.

For the first time ever, more than 100,000 passengers a day passed through each day in August.

The airport also recorded the busiest day in its 81-year history, as 115,212 people flew through the site on Friday, August 23.

With the extra passengers, the airport’s two runways were busy with 132,993 flights during that time, an average of 624 per day.

And, with the Summer season over, as it is recorded by the aviation industry (April-October), Manchester Airport is looking back at how each element of its operation performed.

For airport security Manchester commits that 92% of passengers will reach the security lane within 15 minutes of joining the queue. The airport has hit this target for the past 12 months.

Regarding immigration, this area is looked after by the UK Border Force which is set targets by Government for how long it will take passengers to get through passport control. They say it should take no longer than 25 minutes for an EU passenger and no longer 45 minutes for a non-EU passenger.

The airport’s on time performance is based on aircraft arriving and departing within 15 minutes of their scheduled times. On time performance can be affected by a variety of issues, including European air traffic strikes, slot delays, weather issues and technical issues with aircraft.

Departure on time performance improved by two per cent year-on-year to 71%, despite issues on the European network. Arrival on time performance also improved, up four per cent to 73%.

Baggage is the responsibility of each airline’s contracted handling agent. Performance has improved this financial year to date with 90% of bags delivered on time.

That is up six per cent compared with the same period last year. Extra resilience was provided by the airport this year after problems last Summer with a new dedicated team on hand to step in and help any handler in the event of any problems.

The performance this Summer comes on the back of the opening of the first stage of the airport’s £1bn transformation programme.

In April the first passenger pier and multi-storey car park opened. The terminal extension is set to open next year.

This Summer the airport welcomed back El Al which now operates direct flights to Tel Aviv, while Virgin Atlantic launched services to Los Angeles.

There was also growth from the likes of Ryanair, easyJet, Jet2.com and TUI.

Looking ahead, Biman Bangladesh Airlines has announced it will launch services to Sylhet and Dhaka from January, while airBaltic will be launching flights to Riga from March 2020. The Chinese carrier, Juneyao Airlines, has also announced that it will commence flights to Shanghai in March.

Brad Miller, chief operating officer at Manchester Airport, said: “It’s been a busy, successful Summer for the airport as we’ve continued to grow.

“I’m particularly pleased that all our preparation for Summer has meant our passengers have had a better experience than last year and the operation has coped well with the increased demand.

“We also saw the first phase of our £1bn transformation programme open at the start of Summer and more will come online in 2020.

“As we continue to grow the region benefits from the extra connectivity and trade opportunities that arise, inbound tourism and the 10 Greater Manchester council also see additional dividends.”