Manchester Airports Group (MAG) has announced a record-breaking summer season for traffic and a major investment in one of the group’s airports.
Rolling 12-month traffic figures show the group – which owns Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands Airports – served 63.7 million passengers in the year to September 2024, surpassing the previous record of 63.4 million set in August.
MAG also announced details of a five-year £1.1 billion investment programme at London Stansted, including a £600 million extension to the airport’s existing terminal.
Manchester Airport Group is owned by a combination of public and private shareholders, including Manchester City Council (35.5%), IFM Global Infrastructure Fund (35.5%) and the nine other Greater Manchester local authorities (29%).
MAG said Manchester Airport reached a significant milestone in September when its rolling 12-month passenger total reached 30 million for the first time in its history, up 10.5% from September 2023.
This sees Manchester Airport compare to some of the best-known airports in the world, including La Guardia in New York and Melbourne Airport in Australia.
“As the UK’s global gateway in the North, Manchester Airport boasts the most extensive route network outside of London with more than 200 destinations on offer. 3.1m passengers flew through in the ‘shoulder season’, up by 8% in 2023, with Mallorca and Turkey proving particularly popular,” said MAG.
“In September, 6.3 million passengers travelled through a MAG airport, which was 5.7% higher than in the same month in 2023.
“At London Stansted Airport, another record-breaking month was celebrated with 2.7m passengers travelling through its terminal across September, a 3.4% increase on 2023. The busiest ever September saw passengers jetting off to sun-seeking destinations including Alicante and Faro.
“East Midlands Airport l welcomed nearly 500,000 passengers in September, up 4.9% on the same month in 2023. Across the month, more than 34,000 tonnes of cargo came through the hub which was an increase of 9% from 2023.”
MAG CEO Ken O’Toole said: “In delivering a record-breaking September, it was pleasing to round-off a strong summer season across MAG.
“This reflects the popularity of the routes we offer at all three of our airports, whether people are travelling for business, leisure, to study or visit friends and family.
“By combining this choice with strong service levels and by working with our airlines to make international travel as accessible and affordable as possible, we have been able to give people what they want throughout the summer.
“This underlines the importance of aviation to the economic fortunes of the UK, both as a source of jobs and opportunity and an enabler of key internationally-focussed sectors – that is why we look forward to working with Government on plans to boost growth across the country in the months ahead.”
The Stansted plan was announced at the UK government’s International Investment Summit and follow London Stansted reporting record-breaking passenger numbers for each month in 2024.
Planning permission for the extension was secured last October, and Stansted has images and a video to showcase its plans for the first time.
The terminal development will help enable the airport serve up to 43 million passengers a year, which in turn will create up to 5,000 new on-site jobs, and see the airport’s economic contribution double to £2 billion annually.
London Stansted Managing Director Gareth Powell said: “Stansted is embarking on an exciting new chapter. We aim to add even more choice of airlines to continue growing our extensive route network that is valued and enjoyed by the millions of passengers who choose to fly from London Stansted every year.
“We are already welcoming a record number of passengers, with people drawn to the fact we give them a great choice of destinations, at excellent value and with fantastic access into central London and the whole of the East of England.
“We are unique among major airports in operating a single terminal, which means we can give people a simple, efficient and seamless experience, which we know they value, whether travelling for business, leisure or to visit friends and family. These exciting plans mean we are able to retain all those benefits, while introducing an array of new facilities and giving us the space we need to grow.
“Since receiving planning permission last October, our teams have carefully considered every touch point of a passenger’s journey through the terminal to ensure the extension transforms the airport experience by adding more space, choice, comfort and range of services on offer, from check-in right through to arrivals. I believe we have successfully achieved this while maintaining the ease, simplicity and original design concept of our fantastic terminal building.
“This is a really exciting time for everyone connected with Stansted as we know we have a critical role to play in serving the future capacity needs of London. Our aim is to be the airport of choice for even more passengers and we’re confident our investment plans will boost our competitiveness within the London aviation market, as well as supporting economic growth, jobs and vital international connectivity for London and the East of England.”