Updated: Manchester airport reveals long-haul wishlist  

Manchester airport has detailed a wishlist of destinations as seven new routes were confirmed for 2026.

 

Airport managing director Chris Woodroofe outlined ambitions for further long-haul options following the introduction of Bangkok by Norse Atlantic, IndiGo routes to

Mumbai and Delhi and Pakistan International Airlines to Islamabad last year.

 

He said: “We’re proud to connect the north with more destinations than any of our competitors, and to also offer more frequent flights to well-established holiday favourites, giving passengers flexibility and choice when booking their next trip.

 

“Our route network is unrivalled, with more than 200 destinations across the planet – but we’re not content to stop there.

 

“We have a list here of what we refer to as our biggest unserved destinations – that’s the destinations that we don’t have direct flights to but have the greatest demand, demonstrated by people from the region travelling to them either on connecting flights or from other airports.

 

“Those destinations are always our priority. At the start of last year, the biggest names on that list were Bangkok, Delhi, Mumbai and Islamabad – and we’ve now launched flights to all of those. This year we’ll carry on through the list.

 

“I’m definitely looking to get to 40 million passengers per year over the next five years and there are several specific routes, like Riyadh and Tokyo (pictured) that I’d like to add to our departure board over that period too.

 

“Equally, North America, South America and Africa are all places where we could expand our footprint.”

 

This year sees EasyJet starting flights to Montpellier on March 30, followed by Preveza in Greece on June 24.

 

Jet2.com is adding flights to La Palma in the Canary Islands from April 3, joining Tui on the route.

 

The airline is also to start the first link between Manchester and Palermo in Sicily on May 1 and provide the airport’s only link to Samos from May 5.

 

Ryanair introduces flights to Castellon in Spain on June 1 and SunExpress will provide competition to easyJet and Jet2.com on the Bodrum route from May 4.

 

The new routes build on the short-haul additions of Strasbourg, Ljubljana by easyJet, Rabat by Ryanair and Tallin by Jet2.com in 2025.

 

Richard Slater, northwest chair of Abta and owner of Henbury Travel, called for tour operators to “catch up” and recognise that regional flying - particularly from Manchester - represents a “significant opportunity”.

 

He said: “The catchment area has real and proven growth potential; you only have to look at major businesses choosing Manchester as their base, from global brands like Puma relocating its UK headquarters, to Auto Trader, Deloitte, the BBC at MediaCity and the Co-operative Group, alongside a growing list of tech and financial services firms putting down long-term roots in the region.”

 

He added: "It’s also important that airlines continue to recognise the value of strong regional connectivity. 

 

“British Airways’ current focus on consolidating services through Heathrow is understandable from an operational standpoint, but the economic case for direct regional flying is becoming increasingly compelling. 

 

“With new, efficient aircraft such as the Airbus A321XLR, there is real potential to rethink what’s possible from regional airports — and one would hope that British Airways, like others, may yet see the opportunity and adapt its strategy accordingly.”

 

Slater said: “It’s great to see Manchester growing at such pace. Having had various conversations with Chris Woodroofe and his team about how the travel trade can support Manchester, we’re very pleased to see the appointment of a dedicated travel trade manager - a role I was instrumental in making the case for.

 

“There can still be a perception in some corporate circles that travel agents are a thing of the past, which is very far from reality, and Chris has done a great job of cascading that message throughout his team.

 

“All we need now is for tour operators - many of whom remain London-centric - to catch up and recognise that regional flying, particularly from Manchester, represents a significant opportunity.”