More than 800,000 people are due to fly through Manchester Airports Group’s three airports this bank holiday weekend.
The figure, which includes 103,000 using Manchester airport alone today (Friday), shows that travellers “have truly shrugged off” the impacts of the pandemic travel restrictions over the past 12 months, according to the company which also runs Stansted and East Midlands airports.
Manchester airport expects to handle around 395,000 passengers over the bank holiday weekend, with 389,000 using Stansted and almost 70,000 through East Midlands.
The August bank holiday follows more than 22 million people using the group’s airports in the first three months of the summer season.
A survey of more than 2,000 passengers in July and August found that 94% rated their overall airport experience as good, very good or excellent.
Passenger numbers across MAG stood at 97% of pre-pandemic levels in July, when Stansted became the first major UK airport to surpass pre-Covid traffic numbers, with 102% of passengers seen in July 2019.
Turkey has become the fastest growing destination from Stansted with 51 flights operating this weekend to and from Istanbul and Antalya, Other top spots include Faro, Dublin and Palma.
Around 6,000 passengers will travel on a triple-daily service between Manchester and Dubai this weekend, with Dalaman and Tenerife also showing high demand. New York and Orlando have also proved popular this summer.
East Midlands’ network will see travellers head to summer favourites including Malaga and Alicante.
MAG deputy chief executive Ken O’Toole said: “This summer’s performance demonstrates our commitment to offering travellers a great experience at our three airports at their busiest time of the year.
“We have welcomed 22 million people so far this summer and have been pleased that our work to bring in more colleagues and improve our customer experience has allowed passengers to focus on starting their holidays as soon as they get to the airport.
“That has reflected in the really positive feedback we have had from people who have travelled through our airports in July and August, more than 90% of whom said they had a good, very good or excellent experience.
“This weekend our airports will serve among their highest number of passengers so far this year, as people choose them for the range and frequency of destinations we offer, allowing them to travel on well-earned breaks at their convenience.
“I am proud of the high levels of service which we have offered to passengers on a consistent basis this summer. This is testament to the hard work of our colleagues across the group, and I am confident in our commitment to continue delivering at this level.”