Airport passes 25 million passengers milestone
MANCHESTER Airport has reached 25 million passengers for the first time since opening in 1938.
This equates to year on year growth of 9.3% and has been driven by the addition of new long haul services and increased frequency and capacity on short haul routes.
The airport is the UK’s thirds largest, serving a catchment area stretching from North Wales in the west to Humberside in the east and up to the Scottish Borders.
Bosses say it is playing a key role in connecting the Northern economy – and wider UK – to key markets around the world, as well as bringing investors and tourists into the region from across the globe.
Meanwhile, they say families from all over the airport’s catchment area also have more choice than ever before when it comes to selecting a destination for a getaway.
The top ten most popular international destinations over the last year from the Northern Gateway 210 routes were:
1. Amsterdam
2. Dublin
3. Dubai
4. Tenerife
5. Alicante
6. Palma
7. Malaga
8. Paris
9. Orlando
10. Faro
Collette Roche, deputy CEO of Manchester Airport, said: “We are really pleased to have hit this significant milestone and look forward to continuing to grow our passenger numbers.
“At a time when capacity in the South is constrained, we are adding more passengers and routes than ever before. In the last year alone we have launched flights to Houston, Beijing, Boston, to name a few, all of which can only be found at Manchester outside of London. This underpins the role we play in the North as the global entry point of the Northern Powerhouse and as economic provider and job creator.
“We have more than 22 million people living within two hours of Manchester Airport and our continued addition of new routes and increased frequencies is seeing both business and leisure customers choose Manchester, rather than other airports.”
Roche said that with two full-length runways and a £1bn transformation programme announced, Manchester Airport has, and will continue to have, the available capacity and demand to meet the needs of our catchment area and beyond.
The 25 millionth passenger was Thomas Cooks Airlines customer Chris Stenson, from Crosby, Liverpool, who received a wealth of prizes when he arrived for his flight to New York this morning.
Stenson received a pair of return tickets to San Francisco from Thomas Cook Airlines the airline s newest route from Manchester Airport, which launches in May next year. He also had access to Manchester Airport s Escape Lounge, plus FastTrack passes.
As well as announcing San Francisco for 2017, Thomas Cook Airlines has recently launched new routes to Los Angeles, Boston and Tobago from Manchester Airport.
Chief Airlines Officer for Thomas Cook Group, Christoph Debus, said: “We are delighted having supported Manchester Airport reaching the 25m passenger mark with our double digit growth in Manchester this year.
“These lucky customers are just two out of more than one million long haul passengers who will fly with us in the next 12 months. With our 17 long haul destinations from Manchester, we are the largest long haul carrier in the North, offering excellent and award winning service at the lowest fares.”
