Manchester Airports Group (MAG) continued to see passenger numbers recover in July, with its three airports handling 85% of pre-Covid levels, up from 82% in May and 84% in June.
It expects recent service level improvements will continue through the rest of the year, with customer experience being restored to pre-Covid levels in 2023.
The owner of Manchester, Stansted and East Midlands airports saw 5.5 million passengers travel through its terminals during the month, up from 5.2 million in June.
Stansted passenger numbers reached 90% of 2019 levels, totalling 2.5 million, while Manchester saw 2.6 million passengers, representing 82% of pre-pandemic traffic. East Midlands Airport saw more than 400,000 passengers.
The group said its operational performance also continues to improve, with 93% of passengers at Manchester clearing security in 30 minutes or less in July. More than two-thirds – 69% – passed through in 15 minutes or less.
In August, 99% of passengers have been clearing security in less than 30 minutes and 84% in less than 15 minutes.
At Stansted in July, all passengers passed through security in under 30 minutes in July, and 99% within 15 minutes.
More than 300 staff started new roles across the group in July, bringing the total since January to more than 2,000.
Charlie Cornish, MAG chief executive, said: “July was MAG’s busiest month since the pandemic began, with millions jetting off for their long-awaited summer holidays.
“This summer, more than 11 million people will travel through our airports.
“We continue to see a strong recovery and, having welcomed more than 2,000 new colleagues into our business, are laying the foundations for passenger volumes and customer service to return to pre-pandemic levels in 2023.”
Earlier this week, Tui said it had incurred €75 million in air traffic disruption costs, mostly in the UK, in the three months to June 30.
The roughly 200 flight cancellations in the period mainly related to departures from Manchester airport and represented less than one per cent of the entire summer programme.