Football fans flying to European finals help Stansted to record May

Stansted achieved a record May with 2.86 million passengers due to high half-term week numbers and thousands of football fans flying to three European cup finals.

 

The monthly total beat the previous high for May set last year by more than 123,000 passengers, an increase of 4.5%. 

 

Owner Manchester Airports Group (MAG) handled a record 6.2 million passengers across the month, as Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Arsenal fans flew from Manchester, Stansted and East Midlands to follow their teams.

 

Manchester Airport served 2.9 million passengers - a record for the month despite a small number of services continuing to be affected by conflict in the Middle East.

 

Stansted saw one million passengers pass through its terminal during the school holiday period, with more than 102,500 recorded on May 29, the busiest day of the year so far.

 

Daily passenger numbers topped 100,000 on five separate days in May.

 

The top destinations across the half-term week were Istanbul, Dublin and Palma, with the most popular countries visited being Spain, Italy and Turkey. 

 

Aston Villa fans travelled to Istanbul to see their team triumph in the Europa league, while Crystal Palace supporters flew to various destinations in Germany, including Berlin or Nuremburg, to see the team lift the cup in the Conference League final in Leipzig.

 

Arsenal fans then headed to Budapest for the Uefa Champions League final on direct flights to the Hungarian capital as well as on routes via destinations such as Vienna, and Bratislava and Kosice in Slovakia.

 

Stansted’s rolling total of passengers for the 12-months ending in May reached 30.22 million, an increase of 0.9% on the previous year.  

 

Managing director Gareth Powell said: “London Stansted’s fantastic range of destinations along with the reliable and efficient airport operation we continue to provide enabled us to once again welcome a record number of passengers during May.

 

“The record-breaking month was boosted by a really busy half-term week as hundreds of thousands of Brits headed off on holiday or visited family and friends abroad, while we also saw huge numbers of overseas visitors choosing the airport as their gateway to London and the east of England. 

 

“We also welcomed thousands of football fans during May as supporters took advantage of the excellent choice and convenience our extensive European routes network offers to follow their teams to finals in Turkey, Germany and Hungary.” 

 

He added: “We expect demand to remain strong in the run up to the main summer holiday season, so all the operational teams across the airport will be working hard to deliver a great service and the best possible experience for our passengers.”

 

A MAG spokesperson said: "Record passenger figures demonstrate the strength of our route networks which offered passengers – whether they were heading on a half-term holiday or following their team for European glory – the convenient connections they needed to travel.

 

“It was pleasing to see a record monthly performance for London Stansted. With the largest European network of any UK airport, it was a hive of activity as supporters from across the country flew to Turkey, Hungary and Germany on the days leading up to the finals.

 

“Manchester Airport continued to demonstrate it resilience despite minor disruption to a portion of its long-haul network, also recording a record month for passenger performance. 

 

“These figures demonstrate the underlying strength in the demand for international travel. They also show how with airports spanning the length of the country, MAG is best positioned to offer passengers the choice, value and frequency of services they are looking for.”