MANCHESTERAirport has drawn up a 15-year plan to cope with a predicted doubling in traffic by 2015.
The biggest growth is expected to be in the international scheduled market and is specifically addressed in the new long-term business strategy.
Of the 18m passengers handled at Manchester, only a third are on international scheduled flights. Half are on international charter services and the rest are flying domestic routes.
By 2015, the international scheduled share is expected to have risen to half of the 41m customers forecast to be using the airport.
The business strategy aims to enhance Manchester’s network through existing airlines, but also to target specific airlines to start new routes.
Among these are British Airways, British Midland, European and US carriers.
BA and British Midland are building up international hubs at the airport in their own right and with partners.
Next year, BA intends to work with future Oneworld carrier Olympic Airways on new US and Greek services, and with subsidiary BA Regional and franchise carrier British Regional Airlines to start new European flights.
British Midland is expected to co-operate with Star Alliance partners United Airlines on US services and with Lufthansa to Germany.
Part of the strategy’s goal is to also work with low-cost airlines to increase international traffic. Manchester is poorly served by no-frills carriers. Only Ryanair, with Dublin flights, is currently at the airport, but planners are talking to EasyJet and BA’s Go about launching flights.
Business development manager Aidan Mooney confirmed approaches had been made to Go.
“We will court all carriers,” he said. “We are confident British Midland will start services, it has applied for an increased summer programme.”
The airport has also brought out a millennium pricing proposal in a bid to attract new carriers.
The initiative offers cheap charges to airlines to start new services or build up traffic on underserved routes.
TABLE: Traffic jam: 41m passengers are expected to use Manchester Airport by 2015