Manchester Airport’s Long Haul Destinations Experience Strong Growth in January 2019

More than 1.78 million people passed through Manchester Airport’s three terminals in January 2019, an increase of 7% on January 2018.

Sunnier climes saw the biggest growth with the number of people jetting off to Jamaica up 19.5%, Qatar up 29.8%, and Oman up 21%.

The number of passengers heading to Beijing with Hainan Airlines ahead of the Lunar New Year was up 11.7%, and Cathay Pacific’s flights to Hong Kong enjoyed a 6.5% growth when compared to January 2017. There was also a 9.5% increase in the number of people travelling to Singapore.

More than 28.38 million passengers have now used the UK’s third largest airport in the last 12 months.

Andrew Cowan, CEO of Manchester Airport, said, “January showed that our customers really appreciate the wide range of destinations we offer to them, meaning they have an unrivalled choice of places to visit for leisure or business all year round. We have worked hard over the years to secure routes to the likes of Beijing, Hong Kong, and Oman and it is really pleasing to see they are popular with passengers. As we continue to expand our network in 2019, we are also pressing ahead with the £1bn transformation of the airport and excitement is really building about the opening of the first new pier in April. It will offer an enhanced experience for the 22m passengers in our catchment area and the terminal extension will open the following year.”

During January, Manchester Airport announced plans for a new private terminal, which will be called PremiAir. The new terminal will offer passengers a “private jet experience” while flying on commercial airlines.

The airport’s £1bn transformation will also see Terminal Two grow by 150% and offer the latest innovations in travel and technology. The first phase opens as early as April 2019, while the new terminal extension will open the following summer in 2020.

MAG’s other two airports also grew year on year in January, with London Stansted growing 7.3% to welcome 1.93m passengers, and East Midlands Airport growing 1.2% to welcome 216,000 passengers.

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