Manchester Airports Group (MAG) saw more than 50 million passengers travel through its airports in 2015, representing an increase in passenger numbers of 7.9 per cent over the last 12 months.
Manchester airport, the UK’s third largest, saw 23.12 million passengers pass through, whilst East Midlands saw 4.4 million, a reduction of 1.3 per cent on the previous year. Bournemouth saw 707,168 passengers pass through, an increase of 6.7 per cent.
Ken O’Toole, managing director at Manchester airport, said: “Looking ahead, we have some very exciting new routes already confirmed to start in 2016, including to Beijing with Hainan Airlines, plus Boston and Los Angeles with Thomas Cook Airlines.”
Stansted airport saw its busiest year since 2007, with more than 1.7 million passengers in December alone, and 22.57 million passengers over the year. This represents an increase of 2.6 million passengers or 13 per cent on 2014.
Stansted’s passenger growth is attributed in part to the 50% increase in domestic flights brought on by Easyjet and Ryanair increasing their capacity on Scottish routes, as well as an especially busy festive season.
The group owns four airports in the UK: Stansted, Bournemouth, East Midlands and Manchester, making it the largest UK owned airport operator.
Sam Walsh