Manchester Airport sees February passenger numbers near pre-pandemic levels

Manchester Airport is preparing a for a strong summer season, following the recruitment of hundreds of new staff and having seen February passenger numbers edge closer to pre-pandemic levels.

New data shows the UK’s global gateway in the North welcomed 1.7 million passengers during February – which is 93% of the volume handled in 2019. Low-cost carriers flying from Manchester Airport saw 99% of their pre-pandemic passenger numbers served at 865,000, while for long-haul markets, 320,000 travellers passed through the airport, 92% of the total served in February 2019.

The most popular destination in February was Dubai, with more than 88,000 passengers travelling to the Middle East hub, either to enjoy a mini break there, or to connect onto other far-flung locations like Thailand, Australia and India. Dublin, Amsterdam, Tenerife and Paris made up the rest of the top five.

Istanbul, Barbados, Tenerife, Lanzarote, Sharm-El-Sheikh, Doha, Dubai and Geneva have all now seen passenger numbers from Manchester exceed their 2019 year-to-date total, highlighting the pent up demand for travel following years of disruption for holidaymakers and business travellers alike.

Manchester Airport Managing Director Chris Woodroofe said:

“It’s fantastic to see so many travellers choosing to fly through Manchester Airport and passenger numbers returning to normal shows how far we’ve come.

“It’s also interesting to see how the landscape has changed with more people looking to travel long-haul than previously. It confirms Manchester Airport’s role as the UK’s global gateway in the North – whether you’re flying to Europe or going further afield.”

Across all of Manchester Airport Group’s airports, which also includes London Stansted and East Midlands airports, passenger numbers reached 90% of pre-pandemic levels, with 53 million having flown through the three airports in the last 12 months when Covid-19 testing requirements began to ease around the world.

As Manchester Airport prepares for pre-pandemic passenger levels to return, last year over 2,000 new colleagues were recruited at the hub as global air travel reopened after the Covid-19 restrictions. More staff are now being recruited this year ahead of the peak summer season for travel.