Nearly 2.5 million passengers jetted off from the UK’s third largest airport during May.
With two bank holidays and the start of half term holidays, the airport’s three terminals were busy with holidaymakers searching for sun.
It was also a busy month for long haul developments at the UK’s global gateway in the North. The airport’s first ever direct service to Seattle took off with Thomas Cook Airlines. Meanwhile, two exciting new long-haul routes were also secured.
Ethiopian Airlines announced that it will commence four flights a week to Addis Ababa from December while Jet Airways will launch direct flights to Mumbai from November further strengthening the airport’s long haul network.
Closer to home BA CityFlyer also re-launched its summer European flying programme after a successful 2017. This included a new route to Florence.
Andrew Cowan, CEO of Manchester Airport, said: “It’s been another busy month for Manchester Airport both in terms of the numbers of passengers passing through our doors, and key our long haul route announcements.
“It was great to see flights to Seattle launch, opening up another area of the West Coast of America for our passengers. The news of direct flights to Africa and India was another big boost for the airport, and the North, and shows the hard work we’re putting in to ensure that the region is connected to key growth markets around the world.”
MAG’s other airports performed well last month. London Stansted Airport saw passenger traffic rise sharply again in May, as new transatlantic routes contributed to 9.2% year-on-year growth. East Midlands Airport grew 2.6% year on year to handle 517,000 passengers in May as new summer links to Seville and Tunisia proved popular.
Together, the figures mean the UK’s largest airport group grew 3.9% in May to serve 5.5m passengers, its busiest May ever and gearing it up for its busiest summer season ever, both in long haul and short haul.
