MAG March 2021 Passenger Statistics
- MAG served 92.7% fewer passengers in March 2021 compared to March 2020.
- MAG’s rolling 12-month total drops by 89.4% as the aviation industry marks a year of near-shutdown as a result of the pandemic.
- London Stansted and East Midlands’ airport cargo operations continue to perform well.
Passengers:
| Manchester | London Stansted | East Midlands | MAG |
Rolling 12-month total to Mar-21 | 2,841,407 | 3,069,220 | 413,321 | 6,323,948 |
12-month total % change year on year | -89.9% | -88.6% | -90.8% | -89.4% |
Rolling12-month total to Mar-20 | 28,576,919 | 28,396,165 | 4,856,064 | 61,829,148 |
March 2021 total | 95,798 | 44,259 | 71 | 140,128 |
March 2021 % change year on year | -89.8% | -95.0% | -99.9% | -92.7% |
March 21 % change on March 2019 | -95.3% | -97.9% | -99.9% | -96.8% |
Cargo:
| Manchester | London Stansted | East Midlands |
March 2021 total tonnes | 4,046 | 26,176 | 40,908 |
March 2021 % change year on year | -39.5% | +53.3% | +29.4% |
In the month which marked one year since the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic in the UK, MAG - the UK’s largest airport group - served 92.7% fewer passengers compared to the same month last year. MAG’s rolling 12-month total is also down 89.4%.
In March 2020, MAG had already started to feel the effects of the pandemic on its passenger numbers. For a true pre-pandemic comparison, in March 2019, MAG served more than four million passengers, compared to March 2021 where it served 140,000: a total 97% decrease. Similarly, in March 2019, MAG’s 12-month rolling passenger numbers stood at nearly 62 million passengers, compared to just more than six million in March 2021.
At the beginning of April, the Government announced its framework for restarting international travel under a ‘traffic light system’ from 17th May at the earliest. The framework will categorise countries as ‘red’, ‘amber’ or ‘green’, with each category carrying varying levels of testing and quarantine requirements.
The Government is yet to confirm that travel will resume on the 17th May or to announce which categories specific countries will be placed into. Government has stated that it will issue further guidance in early May. It was also announced that there will be a review of the effectiveness of measures introduced, including the traffic light system as a means to re-establishing a safe, sustainable and robust international travel system, by the 28th June.
MAG responded to the Government’s announcement with a statement on its media centre.
East Midlands and London Stansted’s cargo operations both continued to perform well throughout March 2021, with loads up 29.4% and 53.3% respectively. These strong cargo performances can be attributed to the increased use of pure freight aircraft in the absence of belly-hold capacity, and a continued reliance on online purchases from UK consumers.