Manchester Airport grows despite losing Monarch
Manchester Airport saw almost a 4% increase in passengers last month, due largely to the number of customers taking ski holidays and short breaks.
In total, 2.1 million people passed through the airport in March, which pushed the annual total for the financial year to almost 28.6 million, up 2.5% on the previous year.
The top 10 international destinations from Manchester for the year were:
1. Amsterdam (pictured)
2. Dublin
3. Dubai
4. Tenerife
5. Alicante
6. Palma
7. Paris
8. Malaga
9. Frankfurt
10. Orlando
During the last 12 months, passengers have returned to Egypt, Tunisia and Turkey, said the airport.
Egypt saw 23% growth whilst Turkey saw 29% growth with holidaymakers taking advantage of flights to Antalya, Izmir, Dalaman and Bodrum.
Long-haul growth was driven by the strong performance of flights to Mexico and the Caribbean. Passenger numbers to Mexico were up 21% whilst Caribbean saw 7% growth.
Oman saw growth of 39% with passengers using the daily service to Muscat to visit the middle east and beyond.
Elsewhere, Thailand saw growth of 141% driven by TUI’s new service to U-Tapao and extra capacity on its Phuket service.
Manchester Airport CEO Andrew Cowan said: "It’s been another positive month of growth for the airport and another strong year.
"Following the loss of Monarch, we have worked hard to backfill capacity and it’s pleasing that as the financial year closes out, we’ve not only done that but continued to grow.
"We now look ahead to what is set to be another busy summer for the airport as we welcome more passengers than ever before.
"The summer season started with us launching the first phase of our £1 billion transformation programme, with the opening of a brand new pier and multi-storey car park and we are delighted customers are being able to experience these new facilities already.
"That should give people a flavour of things to come, as we work towards opening our terminal extension next year. In the meantime, we are working hard to ensure all our passengers have a smooth journey through the airport, especially as we build up to the Easter getaway."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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