All MAG airports grow in October as Manchester welcomes 28 million in a year
- MAG operates the two largest airports in the country with significant spare runway capacity.
- Manchester Airport grows 6.0% to serve 28 million passengers in a year for the first time in its history.
- London Stansted has its strongest ever October, serving over 2.5 million passengers in a month.
Passengers
|
|
Manchester |
London Stansted |
East Midlands |
MAG |
|
Rolling 12 month total |
28,022,344 |
27,654,393 |
4,855,907 |
60,532,644* |
|
October 2018 total |
2,547,855 |
2,534,748 |
490,848 |
5,573,451 |
|
October 2018 % change year on year |
+6.0% |
+8.8% |
+2.3% |
+6.9%* |
Cargo
|
|
Manchester |
London Stansted |
East Midlands |
|
October 2018 tonnes |
10,964 |
21,493 |
32,608 |
|
October 2018 % change year on year |
-3.1% |
-7.2% |
+5.5% |
*excludes figures for Bournemouth Airport, which was sold to RCA in December 2017.
MAG, the operator of Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands airports, grew 6.9% to serve 5.6 million passengers in October.
The growth was driven by all three of MAG’s airports, with London Stansted growing 8.8%, Manchester 6.0% and East Midlands 2.3%.
The growth means that Manchester Airport is now celebrating 28 million passengers passing through its three terminals for the first time in its history.
Numbers at Manchester were bolstered by the October half term, with many families getting away for an autumn break.
October also saw the airport celebrate three major milestones on its £1bn transformation programme. Firstly, a topping out ceremony was held to mark the extension to Terminal Two reaching its highest point after just more than a year of construction.
Secondly, a 45 metre, 85 tonne bridge that will connect the terminal extension with the new multi-storey car park was lifted into place. Finally, the main structural work has also been completed on the car park building and will be fully completed by the middle of next year.
Our growth means more choice for passengers, more jobs for people across the North and more economic and trade opportunities as we connect Manchester with key global destinations.
The record breaking October at London Stansted Airport, boosted by the start of the half-term holidays and the final weeks of the airlines’ summer timetable, saw an additional 205,000 passengers take to the skies compared with October 2017.
The seven months of Stansted’s summer flying schedule saw nearly 18.5 million passengers travel to and from Stansted, an increase of 1.5 million over the same period in 2017. The total increased due to the arrival of a number of new airlines, including Emirates launching its daily service to Dubai, plus increases in capacity by existing carriers such as Ryanair and Jet2.com.
East Midlands Airport also returned to growth, with 2.3% more passengers taking advantage of late season offers to the Mediterranean and beyond.
With the Government’s aviation strategy due next month, MAG airports’ continued growth demonstrates the important role that they will play in the coming years, with Manchester and London Stansted being the two largest airports in the UK with significant runway capacity.
Andrew Cowan, Manchester Airport CEO, said: “Hitting 28 million passengers is another significant milestone for the airport. Our growth means more choice for passengers, more jobs for people across the North and more economic and trade opportunities as we connect Manchester with key global destinations.
“All this is being delivered as we press ahead with the biggest investment in our history, which will not only transform our terminal buildings, but the experience our customers enjoy as they travel through Manchester.
“That’s why it was also great to celebrate three major milestones in October, which brought to life how quickly our airlines and passengers will start to experience the benefits the transformation project will deliver to them.”