Manchester Airport: January passenger levels flat as rolling total nears 28 million

Manchester Airport is close to breaking the 28m passenger number for the first time in its 80-year history.

The airport’s rolling annual total hit 27,790,196 in January, which represents year-on-year growth of 7.45%.

Over 1.6m people passed through the UK’s third-biggest airport last month, around the same as in January 2017.

Bosses said the collapse of Monarch late last year offset the increased passenger volumes delivered by other airlines.

But new announcements could drive up passenger figures in the coming months.

Travel firm Jet.2com is picking up some of the capacity and plans to split its operations between its current base at Terminal One and Terminal Two, which it will use for flights to Lanzarote, Majorca, Tenerife and Malaga from April.

Additionally, TUI and Thomas Cook Airlines have added capacity for the summer season, while Ryanair is investing $300m in its Manchester operation.

Manchester Airport CEO Andrew Cowan said: “One of Manchester Airport’s strengths is its mix of airlines and destinations, which provide passengers with an unrivalled choice of places to travel to for business or leisure.

“This has contributed to annual passenger numbers growing by more than 7.5% year-on-year, which is positive news for the region.”

He added: “As we enter the Spring months, we continue to have strong dialogue with a range of airlines about launching services to destinations across the globe, at the same time as progressing the £1bn transformation of the airport.”

January also saw chief exec Andrew made chair of the newly formed Manchester India Partnership, set up to drive closer links between the two destinations.