Manchester Airport says it is set for a strong summer as passenger numbers return to near pre-pandemic levels and holidaymakers increasingly look to far flung destinations.
Figures for February this year show 1.7 million passengers travelled through the airport last month, which is half a million more than February of last year. The figure equates to 93 per cent of the total number of passenger in February 2019, pre-Covid.
Low-cost airlines, said the airport, had a particularly strong month, with 865,000 holidaymakers taking budget flights last month just one per cent less than pre-pandemic levels. Announcing the latest figures, bosses said the airport was edging 'ever closer' to pre-Covid levels of passengers.
Long-haul markets are also said to be recovering strongly, with 320,000 passengers during February equating top 92 per cent of pre-pandemic levels. Barbados, Istanbul, Sharm-El-Sheikh and Doha are said to be the most popular destinations. Dublin, Amsterdam, Tenerife and Paris made up the rest of the top five.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News last October, the managing director of Manchester Airport Chris Woodroofe promised holidaymakers a very different summer experience next year, saying on queues: "There will be nobody doing laps of the airport stood in car parks - that's behind us."
The airport, all too often, wasn't far from the headlines last summer as many passengers and families endured stressful starts to their getaways, with staff shortages and cancelled flights by airlines taking their toll. Holidaymakers shared photographs of long snaking queues for security running outside airport terminals and for passport control. There were also huge issues with baggage reclaim.
But the airport said more than 2,000 new members of staff joined last year, with more due this year, and in February 96 per cent of passengers queued for under 15 minutes at security, with new systems due to be put in place to boost those numbers from April.
MD Mr Woodroofe said: "It's fantastic to see so many travellers choosing to fly through Manchester Airport and passenger numbers returning to normal shows how far we've come.
"It's also interesting to see how the landscape has changed with more people looking to travel long-haul than previously. It confirms Manchester Airport's role as the UK's global gateway in the North – whether you're flying to Europe or going further afield."
The data published also shows Manchester Airports Group (MAG), which is made up of Manchester, East Midlands and London Stansted airports, served 3.5million passengers in February, equivalent to 90 per cent of pre-pandemic levels
Around 24.7million passengers have flown from Manchester Airport in the last 12 months.
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