Manchester Airport celebrated its 25th month of consecutive growth as a host of new services drove passenger numbers close to the 2m mark.
There were 1,920,084 people who passed through the UK’s third busiest gateway. That marks an 11% year-on-year increase on April 2015 and sees the rolling annual total of passenger numbers climb to 23,730,610.
Jet2.com launched new routes to Krakow and Naples; Monarch Airlines launched services to Tel Aviv and Lisbon whilst other carriers commenced their summer timetables, significantly increasing the number of flights.
Buoyed by Easter holidays taking place at different times and the launch of the summer season, there was nearly 15,000 aircraft movements in April an increase of 12% compared to April 2015.The airport also saw large number of football fans travelling through the airport due to Manchester City and Liverpool FCs involvement in European competitions in April.
City travelled to Paris to take on Paris St Germain, with fans flying to both Charles de Gaulle and Beauvais airports. Meanwhile, Liverpool supporters flew to Germany to take on Dortmund, with fans jetting to Hanover, Dusseldorf and Cologne as there plotted their path to the Europa League final.Manchester Airport also welcomed Dortmund and PSG fans for the return legs of their Champions League fixtures. Meanwhile, both the PSG and Real Madrid teams flew through the airport ahead of their ties with City.
Amsterdam, Dublin, Dubai, Tenerife and Alicante were the most popular destinations, as passengers chose a mixture of city breaks and sunshine routes.
Ken OToole, Manchester Airports CEO, said: “It’s been another strong month for growth and it sets the tone for what we hope will be a record summer for Manchester Airport.
“April saw new route launches from Jet2.com and Monarch to the likes of Krakow, Naples and Tel Aviv and May sees the launch of direct flights to Los Angeles and Boston with Thomas Cook Airlines. There are many reasons people visit Manchester but football is one of the citys key selling points and when fans are here, we know they go on to spend money in hotels, bars, restaurants, cafes and other attractions.It is pleasing to see the airport playing such a positive role in driving the visitor economy of the North West in this way.With 22 million people in our catchment area we continue to offer passengers a wealth of destinations and options to suit every traveller.”
Freight was also up in April with a 9% increase, taking the rolling annual total to 104,228 tonnes.
The airport’s success story was mirrored elsewhere within Manchester Airports Group, with traffic up 6.7% group-wide and London Stansted airport seeing its 25th month of consecutive growth, and its highest annual passenger total since 2008.
