Manchester airport continued an upward trajectory last month with the busiest October in its 77-year history.
Passengers using the airport topped 2 million, a rise of 4%, with international numbers up by 7% year-on-year.
This moved the rolling annual total of passengers to a record of 2.95 million, with the airport expecting to surpass the 23 million mark before the end of the year.
An average of 67,327 people flew via Manchester every day during the 31 days of October including Chinese president, Xi Jinping, who visited the airport as part of his state visit to the UK.
An influx of football fans was cited as one of the main reasons for the growth, with Manchester United having secured Champions League qualification alongside Manchester City, having missed out in 2014.
Football related flights also contributed to the increase in charter flights, including trips to Bournemouth and fans flying in from Dublin.
Other factors included new services to Vienna, Miami, Hong Kong and Barcelona.
Managing director, Ken O’Toole, said: “October has been another very positive month with strong growth nudging us toward the 23 million passenger mark.
“We are seeing more and more passengers ‘Fly Manchester’, which is evident after our most successful year on record.
“With our two full length runways and a £1 billion transformation program announced, Manchester airport has, and will continue to have, the available capacity and demand to meet the needs of our catchment area that extends as far north as Scotland and south to the Midlands.”