Manchester Airport, the UK’s third busiest airport,has today passed 23 million passengers for the first time in its 77-year history.
Since November 2014, 23 million passengers have used the airport, flying to more than 210 destinations across the globe.
They range from European cities like Dublin and Amsterdam to destinations popular with sun-seekers, including Tenerife, Palma and Alicante.
Passengers are also jetting off to an increasing number of long-haul locations, such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Las Vegas, Washington DC, New York, Miami and Dubai.
There has now been an increase in the number of people using the airport for 19 months consecutively, with five per cent growth in passenger numbers in the last year alone.And further growth is predicted, with a number of key routes set to be launched in the coming months.
They include Los Angeles and Boston, with Thomas Cook Airlines, and Beijing, which was announced during President Xi Jinping’s visit to Manchester last month. That service, with Hainan Airlines, will start next June. All three services are the only direct scheduled flights to those destinations outside of London, further cementing Manchester Airport’s status as the Global Gateway from the North.
The most popular international destinations over the last 12 months were:
1. Dubai
2. Dublin
3. Amsterdam
4. Tenerife
5. Palma
6. Alicante
7. Malaga
8. Paris
9. Orlando
10. Faro
Ken O’Toole, Managing Director of Manchester Airport, said: “We are really pleased to have hit this significant milestone.
“Manchester Airport has never been busier and our continued growth is testament to the role we play in connecting people across the North to destinations in all four corners of the world.
“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.
“Next year is set to be even busier for the airport, with new routes to Beijing, Boston and Los Angeles all set to launch.
“With two full-length runways and a £1bn transformation program announced, Manchester Airport has, and will continue to have, the available capacity and demand to meet the needs of our catchment area and beyond.”
