MAG airports hit one million monthly passenger milestones

The two airports, which are part of Manchester Airports Group (MAG) along with East Midlands, were boosted by the October half-term holiday as the recovery in international travel gathered pace with the easing of Covid-19 restrictions.

MAG served a total of 2.7 million passengers as a group in October, which marked six months of sustained passenger growth at the three airports, although this total was still down by 49% on October 2019 figures.

Stansted catered for 1.34 million passengers in October, up by 236% on October 2020, while Manchester’s passenger numbers reached 1.2 million in the month - a 201% year-on-year increase. East Midlands’ passengers also rose to 213,000 in October.

The number of passengers was also up by 22% on September and MAG expects this positive trend to continue with the reopening of the US to UK travellers on 8 November.

Charlie Cornish, MAG’s chief executive, said: “These figures demonstrate clearly how the demand for international travel is ready and waiting for when restrictions are eased.

“It is hugely positive to have seen our traffic levels recover month-on-month, and the removal of costly barriers and uncertainty is giving consumers renewed confidence to get back to travel.

“We need to see this positive trend continue following the reopening of transatlantic services to the US in early November and as we continue to rebuild Manchester airport’s network of direct long-haul connections.”

Cornish also called on the UK government to “set out a clear ambition and plan for removing remaining restrictions on travelling abroad at the earliest opportunity”.