London,
13
May
2019
|
10:19
Europe/London

MAG airports grow, as choice of destinations reaches all-time high

  • 4.0% growth across the Group compared to April 2018.
  • Group growth driven by the increased choice of destinations for passengers.
  • Manchester Airport saw its passenger numbers grow by 8.4%.

Passengers:

 

Manchester

London Stansted

East Midlands

MAG

Rolling 12-month total

28,761,824

28,420,791

4,844,398

62,027,013

April 2019 total

2,387,424

2,390,050

393,532

5,171,006

April 2019 % change year on year

8.4%

1.0%

-2.9%

4.0%

Cargo:

 

Manchester

London Stansted

East Midlands

April 2019 tonnes

8,826

17,571

29,160

April 2019 % change year on year

-7.0%

-14.5%

-0.6%

MAG, the operator of Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands airports, saw passenger numbers grow by 4.0% in April as the airports prepare to enter their busy summer season.

Manchester Airport welcomed 2.4m passengers in April, up 8.4% year on last year. Growth has been driven by long-haul routes, with destinations such as Singapore seeing a 25.3% increase in passenger numbers and Jamaica seeing a 38.9% increase. Dubai was the third most popular destination for passengers this month.

London Stansted Airport saw its impressive March growth (6.1%) boosted by a further 1% on April last year, benefitting from the launch of a new route direct to Paris (CDG), and a five-weekly service to Copenhagen with SAS. Domestic routes to Edinburgh and Belfast were among the top destinations for Stansted passengers this month, alongside an increase of 14.1% in passengers travelling to the Canary Islands, and 27.5% increase in the number of passengers travelling to Turkey, boosted by a new route to Izmir.

East Midlands Airport saw a slight dip in its passenger numbers, welcoming 393,532 passengers, 2.9% down on April 2018. However, East Midlands Airport continues to prove popular for passengers heading to the Balearic and Canary Islands, and saw a significant 20% increase in passengers travelling to Turkey.

Across the group, MAG is currently 5.1% up on its rolling 12-month passenger performance, and growth is expected to continue throughout the year, with new capacity now open at Manchester Airport as part of its £1bn transformation programme.

 

Graeme Elliott, Corporate Affairs Director, MAG said: “We are pleased to see passenger numbers for MAG grow at a healthy rate of 4% this month, compared to April 2018. This growth, alongside a number of vital new links, is a positive indicator as we enter the busy summer season, and shows we are offering the destinations that passengers are looking for.

“Growth at Manchester Airport has been particularly strong at 8.4% because of popular long-haul routes - reaffirming its position as a nationally significant, global gateway outside of London. We support recent calls for a Northern Powerhouse Aviation Strategy, which would maximise the potential of Manchester, which has capacity to play a leading role in rebalancing the economy and taking pressure away from London and the South East.

Across our airports, we have more direct destinations than ever, giving passengers more choice and flexibility when it comes to their upcoming holidays or business trips.”