Manchester Airports Group (MAG) has revealed its passenger numbers in July were 5.1.% higher than the same month last year, with Manchester airport recording its busiest month on record.
The northern gateway served 3.2 million passengers (a rise of 6.8% year on year), while Stansted enjoyed its busiest-ever July by welcoming 2.9 million passengers (3.4% up) and East Midlands airport recorded a figure of 520,000 (5.2% up), meaning a total of 6.6 million people travelled through a MAG airport last month.
Manchester airport recorded its highest-ever rolling 12-month passenger figure, with 29.6 million passengers travelling through it in the year to July. This figure was up from the previous highest total of 29.4 million, recorded in September 2019.
The performance means that Manchester airport is the verge of joining major international hubs like LaGuardia in New York, Melbourne in Australia, Hamad International airport in Doha and Sabia Gokcen International airport in Istanbul which handle 30 million passengers a year.
More: Manchester Airports Group passenger numbers exceed pre-Covid levels for first time
Across all MAG airports, the rolling 12-month total up to July was 62.9m passengers.
Giving an update on operational performance, MAG said 100% of passengers at East Midlands airport passed through security in 15 minutes or less. At Stansted the figure was 99% and at Manchester it was 97%.
Last week week, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) published its annual airport accessibility report.
Stansted and East Midlands were awarded the highest possible ‘very good’ rating, while Manchester received a ‘good’.
The top destinations in the month from Stansted were Dublin, Istanbul and Palma, with the most popular countries being Spain, Italy and Turkey.
MAG said the positive results had come after its investment in its infrastructure and staff to ensure passengers with additional travel needs can use its airports with confidence and ease.
Manchester airport managing director Chris Woodroofe said: “We’re proud to connect the people of the north to their favourite holiday destinations and last month was the busiest July we’ve ever seen.
“I’m particularly proud that alongside the record-breaking performance we’ve continued to give passengers a good service. 97% of our passengers waited for less than 15 minutes to get to security – but seven out of 10 passengers actually waited for less than five minutes.”
Manchester airport’s top 10 destinations for July were:
- Palma – 123,864
- Dubai – 98,715
- Amsterdam – 97,914
- Antalya – 95,087
- Alicante – 91,720
- Dalaman – 90,625
- Dublin – 88,694
- Tenerife – 93,039
- Malaga – 65,906
- Faro – 58,585