New report shows 50 new direct long-haul routes could be unlocked at Manchester Airport by integrating investment in new transport infrastructure

Political and business leaders back report showing how Manchester Airport can drive Northern growth and a rebalancing of the economy

Regional political and business leaders have backed the report – saying “Manchester Airport  should be at the heart of our plan to transform the North’s connectivity if we are to drive productivity and growth”

Government measures needed include investment in new high speed rail network in the North, with Airport at its heart

 

Political and business leaders have urged the next government to place Manchester Airport at the heart of a modern, integrated transport network in the North and maximise its role in rebalancing the UK economy.

The calls were made after a new report revealed what the full economic potential of the Airport would be if the right conditions were in place to unlock “transformational growth” across the North.

Produced by Arup, it states that between now and 2050, the Northern gateway could secure direct flights to 50 new world-leading cities including Sydney, Tokyo, Montreal, Mumbai, Riyadh, San Francisco and Cape Town, driving passenger volumes to as high as 60m a year.

Those links would drive significant increases in exports, inward investment, tourism and cultural exchange for the North, growing Manchester Airport’s annual economic impact on the North to £16.3bn and leading to support for more than 80,000 more jobs.

The report spells out the opportunity for Ministers to create a “supportive policy environment” that enables both the Airport, and the Northern economy as a whole, to flourish.

The centrepiece of that would be the delivery of a high-speed rail network that transforms journey times between the likes of Leeds, Sheffield, Liverpool and Bradford and the airport.

That would build on MAG’s own £1.3bn investment in the transformation of its facilities, which is helping unlock the potential of its existing two runways.

Alongside measures like investing in local transport schemes, funding and policy support for aviation sustainability and the right national tourism strategy, that would create a transformational growth scenario that by 2050 would also lead to:

Gross value added (GVA) impact from the airport in the North tripling from £5.7bn to £16.3bn

  Potential for more than 50 new long-haul routes

 Around 25 new short-haul routes

Employment for over 165,000 people compared to 80,000 people today. That is equivalent to the population of Harrogate

More than 260,000 businesses would be within 90 minutes of the airport – compared to 70,000 today

Potential for the airport to serve up to 60m passengers each year compared to 27m today

The creation of 6,500 jobs and £930m of economic value through the creation of a Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) pipeline and production capability that serves Manchester Airport and the UK as a whole

MAG CEO Ken O'Toole said: "Manchester Airport is well-established as the UK’s global gateway in the North, connecting the region to an ever-increasing range of destinations such as Beijing, Singapore, Hong Kong, New York, Houston, Toronto and across the Middle East.

“We know this connectivity delivers billions of pounds of economic value to the North by driving trade, investment and tourism and, spurred by our own £1.3bn investment in new terminal facilities and infrastructure the Airport, we will continue to grow and support growth across the region in the years to come.

UK’s largest airports group records positive half year results

A successful summer season delivered a positive first-half performance for MAG, leaving it in a strong position to continue its investment in its airports to improve customer service and support sustainable growth.

MAG (Manchester Airports Group), which owns and operates Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands Airports, today published its interim results for the period 1 April – 30 September 2023, during which it generated record half-year revenues of £705.6m (FY23: £565.2m).

Its airports collectively handled 34.9m passengers during the period, up 4.4m on the prior year. That represented just under 96% of pre-pandemic levels. In July, London Stansted became the first major airport to exceed pre-Covid volumes when compared to the same month in 2019, with Manchester marking that milestone in October, when East Midlands reached the 98% mark.

Manchester Airport welcomed 16.4m passengers between April and September, with 15.8m passing through London Stansted and 2.7m through East Midlands.

 Not only did all MAG airports increase passenger volumes between April-September, they delivered consistently good service levels, with the vast majority of passengers passing through security in 15 minutes of less throughout the summer (Manchester – 96%, London Stansted – 98%, East Midlands – 100%). In July, all three received the highest possible rating from the Civil Aviation Authority for the service they provide to passengers with assisted travel needs.

Manchester Airports Group (MAG) publishes strong annual results for 2022-23

Manchester Airports Group (MAG) is well-placed to enter a period of investment and growth, after it reported a positive set of full-year results.

In the period 1 April 2022 – 31 March 2023, the UK’s largest airport group recorded a revenue of £1bn for the first time in its history, as demand returned following the removal of Covid-19 travel restrictions.

  MAG served 54m passengers, equal to 91% of 2019/20 traffic

MAG, which owns and operates Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands Airports, served 54m passengers across the reporting period which is equivalent to 91% of levels in 2019-2020.

The Group recorded an Adjusted EBITDA of £412m, up from £126m last financial year, when air travel was still constrained by government travel restrictions. These earnings were delivered on revenues of £1bn, which were up on the £462m recorded in the previous financial year.

An operating profit of £28.6m was recorded, after accounting for one-offs, recovering from an operating loss of £130m in the year to April 2022.

As a result of the positive relationships MAG has fostered with its airline partners, route networks across the Group continued to be restored throughout the year. Recovery was particularly strong in the low cost, short-haul sector, with Ryanair, Jet2.com, easyJet and TUI adding a significant number of direct connections across the Group.

Long-haul connectivity also recovered strongly, including transatlantic routes from Manchester Airport to New York and Orlando with Virgin Atlantic and Aer Lingus, alongside Hainan Airlines’ service to Beijing, as well as the addition of a new services to Kuwait and Bahrain. Emirates’ routes to Dubai have also returned to full strength from both Manchester and London Stansted, operating triple daily and double daily frequencies respectively.

The Group is now focused on delivering significant investment in its airports to enhance the passenger experience. Earlier this week, MAG announced that it was submitting a planning application at London Stansted, for an extension to the existing terminal building that will significantly improve the experience for passengers and provide terminal capacity for the airport’s growth within its agreed planning consent limits.

MAG welcomes clear path to net zero air travel provided by new decarbonisation Road-Map

UK’s largest group of airports welcomes updated Road-Map to accelerate use of decarbonisation technologies

MAG remains committed to driving work to ensure airport infrastructure can facilitate wide-spread use of zero emission fuels

Group also welcomes Philip New’s report on SAF and the Jet Zero Council’s 2-year plan

 

Manchester Airports Group (MAG) welcomed yesterday’s publication of a new decarbonisation Road-Map by industry coalition Sustainable Aviation (SA).

The new Road-Map reflects the advancements made in decarbonisation technologies in the UK, which will allow the aviation industry to continue to move at pace towards its collective target of net zero by 2050.

MAG, which owns and operates Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands Airports, will continue to play an important role in the facilitating the use of new low and zero carbon aviation technologies.

MAG is a member of the Government’s Jet Zero Council as well as its Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAFs) and Zero Emission Flight Infrastructure sub-groups. This means it has a front row seat helping to shape how UK airports can prepare for and introduce new technologies, including Sustainable Aviation Fuels and Hydrogen technology.

The Group has already taken significant steps in its work to secure new technologies at its airports. Manchester Airport has announced partnerships on both SAF and hydrogen. In October 2021, it signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Fulcrum Bioenergy UK which aims to make Manchester Airport the first airport in the UK to have a direct supply of SAF by the mid-2020s, and in November 2022 signed a partnership with HyNet which set out plans to become the first airport with a pipeline of hydrogen fuel by the mid 2030s.

MAG CEO, Charlie Cornish, said:  “This updated Decarbonisation Road-Map demonstrates the commitment of the UK aviation industry to delivering a more sustainable future, and gives confidence to the travelling public that we are collectively accelerating towards net zero by 2050.  

 “The Road-Map highlights the progress we are making with decarbonisation technologies to ensure that the wide-ranging benefits of international travel can continue to be felt for generations to come, without carbon emissions.

 “As an airport operator, MAG is focused on supporting the development of sustainable aviation fuels, zero emission flight infrastructure and the transformation of the airspace surrounding our airports - to ensure our collective target for net zero is achieved.

Manchester Airports Group airports in great shape ahead of start of summer season

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

London Stansted grows to become the UK’s number one gateway to Europe in 10 years

London Stansted has just marked the 10th anniversary of Manchester Airports Group’s (MAG) acquisition of the airport which opened up a new era in its history.   London Stansted was added to MAG's portfolio of Manchester and East Midlands airports on February 28, 2013, from Heathrow Airport Holdings for £1.5billion.  Under MAG ownership, millions of pounds have been invested in revamping facilities, Jet2 and Emirates have been added to its list of carriers, and it has grown to become the UK's number one gateway to Europe.

Planning permission has been secured to handle 43 million passengers and long-term growth deals have been signed with airlines including its biggest carrier, Ryanair.

It has also welcomed Air Force One and the President of the United States numerous times, as well as being the airport of choice for the returning cast and crew members from the hit television series, Love Island.

Gareth Powell, Stansted Airport Managing Director, said:  "It has been a fantastically exciting and successful 10 years at Stansted and although it has been challenging at times, especially during the COVID pandemic, we should be proud of what we have accomplished over the decade.

East Midlands Airport reveals this summer’s destinations

East Midlands Airport (EMA) is gearing up for its busiest year for passenger travel since before the pandemic.

With more flights and extra capacity in 2023, those planning to use the airport this year will be spoilt for choice. Between April and October, the airlines that serve EMA will fly to 60 destinations between them including the places that are most popular with UK holidaymakers. 

More than half of all East Midlands passengers fly to Spain, the Balearics and the Canaries. This summer the most frequently flown to destinations will be Palma (Majorca) with 35 weekly flights, followed by Alicante (26 weekly flights), Faro - Portugal (24 weekly flights) and Malaga (23).

Two new destinations will also be on offer this year thanks to Ryanair flying to Cork and Eastern Airways’ new flight to Newquay in Cornwall.

East Midlands Airport is served by seven airlines – Ryanair, JET2.com. TUI, Flybe, Eastern Airways, Aurigny and Blue Islands who will fly more than 360 flights a week to and from EMA this summer.

With no travel restrictions hampering the start of 2023 as there were last year, the airport’s preparations for this year’s peak season are already underway. Roles in security, customer services, car parking and assisted travel teams are being recruited to while training courses are already filling up with potential new starters.

Strong summer of recovery for Manchester Airports Group airports

Manchester Airport Control Tower - Photo MAG

Manchester Airports Group (MAG) saw its strongest period of recovery this summer since the pandemic began, handling four times as many passengers in the peak summer months of this year compared to 2021.

Figures for August published today by the Group - which operates Manchester, London Stansted, and East Midlands Airports - saw more than 16 million passengers pass through its terminals in June, July and August, representing 86% of the traffic seen over the same period in 2019.

The strong return of passenger volumes contrasts last summer, when Government restrictions on international travel meant that MAG served just 4 million passengers in the peak summer months.

The Group served 5.8 million passengers in August alone this year, increasing from 5.5 million in July. Manchester and London Stansted Airport each welcomed more than 2.5 million passengers last month for the first time since 2019. East Midlands Airport has also seen its traffic steadily increase over the summer, serving nearly 430,000 passengers in August.

Passengers:

	Manchester	London Stansted	East Midlands	MAG
Rolling 12-month total to August 22	19,244,204	19,413,381	2,734,904	41,392,489
12-month total % change year on year	+454.5%	+382.9%	+497.1%	+420.8%
Rolling 12- month total to August 21	3,470,316	4,019,885	458,039	7,948,240
August 22 total	2,732,718	2,597,995	428,902	5,759,615
August 22 % change year on year	+215.6%	+127.3%	+175.2%	+166.1%
August 22 % change on August 2019	-18.0%	-9.3%	-29.2%	-15.3%