Manchester Airport accommodated more than 23.5 million passengers in the last financial year, making it the busiest in the UK airport’s 78-year history. This was helped by an 11% year-on-year increase in traffic for March 2016, with more than 1.7 million travelers flying to popular destinations such as Dubai, Dublin, Amsterdam, Tenerife and Alicante.
Ken O’Toole, managing director at Manchester Airport, said, “The continued strong growth at Manchester Airport is incredibly positive and benefits not only the airport and our passengers, but the entire region.
“As new routes come to fruition and passenger numbers increase, in turn jobs are created and inbound tourism spend is injected into the region.
“Manchester Airport currently generates £1.7bn (US$2.4bn) in value for the Northwest, supports 21,500 jobs on-site and a further 45,000 indirectly, and we are confident of driving more growth in the years to come.
“As we move into the summer season, we look forward to a host of new long-haul routes starting, which will give our passengers more choice than ever before.
“This financial year, we will see services to Beijing with Hainan Airlines, plus Los Angeles and Boston with Thomas Cook.
“Such services are sure to prove popular with leisure travelers, as well as delivering a boost to businesses wanting access to these key markets and, as the year progresses, we look forward to securing yet more vital routes for passengers across the North.”