Airport set for bumper summer season following busy Easter period
Manchester Airport anticipates a bumper summer after it handled more than two million passengers during the Easter holidays.
New figures show 2.2 million passengers flew to or from the airport in April – a 15% increase on April last year.
Despite the increase, queueing times at security remained low with 96% of passengers getting through in under 15 minutes, and 100% of people getting through in under 30 minutes, the airport said.
The most popular destination in April was Dubai, with almost 88,000 people flying to the Middle Eastern city, an increase of more than 31,000 compared with April last year. Belfast and the Turkish city of Antalya also saw big increases in traffic, recording increases of 13,000 and 12,000, respectively.
Data for the first week of May is showing a shift in passenger trends with Alicante jumping into the number one slot, leapfrogging Dublin and Dubai as people head to the beach.
Manchester Airport managing director, Chris Woodroofe, said: “It was really pleasing to kick April off by delivering a hugely successful Easter, during which more than 300,000 people flew to a wide range of destinations, reflecting the excellent choice we are able to offer as the UK’s global gateway in the North.
“It is great to see passenger volumes continue to grow, and to have been able to provide all those travelling through Manchester Airport with a great level of service.
“That means we are going into the peak summer season ready for passengers to see the airport at its best. We want passengers’ holidays to begin at the airport and we’re confident that will be the case this summer, with the vast majority of people breezing through security in under 15 minutes.”
During April, 2,176,450 passengers flew from or to Manchester Airport. The month included the Easter getaway which saw 305,000 passengers fly between Friday, April 7, and Monday, April 10.
Manchester Airport has welcomed more than 2,000 new members of staff since last April. That includes its new resilience team, made up of more than 100 team members who are trained in a variety of roles across the airport so they can be deployed to help wherever issues occur, including at check-in and with baggage handling.
Manchester Airport is part of Manchester Airport Group (MAG), which also runs East Midlands and London Stansted airports. It revealed 4.8 million passengers travelled through MAG airports in April, up 16.4% on 2022.
