Manchester Airport experienced its busiest day since before the coronavirus pandemic last week - as thousands of Manchester City fans jetted off to Istanbul.
Over 100,000 passengers passed through the south Manchester airport on Friday 9 June. It was the highest number of travellers seen since September 2019.
Flights to and from the airport had to be grounded for a number of months between 2020 and 2021 to limit the spread of coronavirus, as the country saw multiple national lockdowns.
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Passenger numbers have been steadily increasing since all remaining lockdown measures were lifted in the summer of 2021.
A large number of the 100,061 passengers who passed through security last Friday were Manchester City fans heading off for the triumphant Champions League final in Istanbul on Saturday (10 June), in which the blues beat rivals Inter Milan 1-0.
The boost came on the back of a busy May, with traffic up 15.5% compared to May 2022. Newly published data shows 2,505,177 people used the airport in May, taking the rolling 12-month total to almost 26million.
Despite widespread chaos last summer, which saw passengers stuck in huge queues for security, and waiting hours for luggage, the airport's new boss says things have been improving.
Security queuing times on June 9 remained low, with 96.6 per cent of passengers getting through to the departure lounge within 15 minutes, the airport say.
The most popular destination in May was Palma on the Spanish island of Mallorca. The Balearic destination beat Alicante and Amsterdam into second and third place respectively with April’s most popular destination, Dubai, coming in fourth.
Chris Woodroofe, managing director of Manchester Airport, said: "Football is such an important part of life for many people so it was a real privilege for all of us at Manchester Airport to be able to help thousands of fans get out to Istanbul smoothly and share in an unforgettable experience.
"As the UK’s global gateway in the North we play a key role in making sure that people in the region can get to major global events like the Champions League final. It shows that we’re ready for a successful summer and that people can feel confident they’ll get a great experience at the airport as they start their holidays.
"Passenger numbers increasing year-on-year shows the importance of international travel to people in the area so whether you’re heading to Palma for a family holiday or jetting off to Dubai on business you’ll get the best start to your journey here at the airport."
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