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Manchester airport saw a 10.2% rise in passengers last month boosted by people taking breaks as Valentine’s Day fell on a weekend.
A total of 1.35 million people passed through the airport in February, up from 1.23 million in the same month last year.
This took the rolling annual total to 22.19 million passengers – placing the UK’s third busiest airport on track to beat its all-time record of 22.42 million before the start of the summer.
Domestic traffic was up 19.6%, most notably due to the ‘regional hub’ operated by Flybe, which offers connections to long-haul services operated from Manchester, including the global networks of Cathay Pacific, Etihad Airways and Finnair.
Ken O’Toole, chief commercial officer for airport owner MAG, said: “Manchester airport’s continued significant growth is testament to the critical role it plays in UK aviation, providing the north of England and our extended catchment area with global connectivity through an unrivalled network of short and long haul destinations.
“As well as the increased passenger numbers, February also saw announcements for new airlines and destinations including Vueling Airlines to Barcelona pus Iraqi Airways to Erbil and Sulaymaniyah.”