Passenger volumes across Manchester Airports Group (MAG) in February were 90% of those seen pre-pandemic.
MAG, which owns and operates Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands Airports, served 3.5 million passengers in February.
That marked an increase of 47% on February 2022, when Covid-19 testing requirements began to ease for travellers.
Manchester Airport served 1.7 million passengers last month, representing the highest proportion of 2019 traffic across MAG, at 93%.
London Stansted also handled 1.7 million passengers across the month - representing 92% of travellers served in 2019. East Midlands Airport’s traffic for the month was 64% of pre-pandemic levels.
In February, London Stansted marked 10 years of MAG ownership, over which time the airport’s passenger figures rose from 17 million in 2013, to 28 million in 2019 – now making it one of the UK’s largest airports. Since acquisition, MAG has invested millions of pounds in the airport’s facilities and introduced new airlines including Jet2 and Emirates.
London Stansted now serves more European destinations than any other UK airport, and in 2021 secured planning permissions to increase its passenger capacity to 43 million passengers per year.
All three of MAG's airports are continuing to provide good service levels to passengers as the industry nears the official start of its summer season. Service levels have been primarily driven by recruitment over the last 12 months, where since February 2022, MAG has welcomed more than 1,600 new security officers, over 1,000 of which were at Manchester Airport.
MAG served 3.5 million passengers in February, equivalent to 90% of pre-pandemic levels
MAG’s rolling 12 months passenger total stands at 53 million
In February, London Stansted marked 10 years of MAG ownership, celebrating its increase in passenger numbers and airport investment since 2013
Passengers:
Manchester | London Stansted | East Midlands | MAG | |
| Rolling 12-month total to February ’23 | 24,788,248 | 25,036,167 | 3,294,307 | 53,118,722 |
| 12-month total % change year-on-year | +218.9% | +183.7% | +231.8% | +202.0% |
| Rolling 12- month total February ’22 | 7,772,748 | 8,813,319 | 992,848 | 17,578,965 |
| February ’23 total | 1,664,398 | 1,713,267 | 137,452 | 3,515,117 |
| February ’23 % change year-on-year | +46.6% | +48.9% | +24.5% | 46.7% |
| February ’23 % change on February 2019 | -7.5% | -8.5% | -36.3% | -9.6% |
Cargo:
Manchester | London Stansted | East Midlands | |
| February 2023 total tonnes | 4,068 | 17,005 | 27,578 |
| February 2023 % change year on year | -18.2% | -14.1% | -21.8% |