Manchester Airport has surpassed a major milestone by recording more than 30 million passengers travelling through its terminals in the last 12 months.
Reaching the milestone puts the airport on par with major international hubs as part of the so-called 30 Million Club, alongside La Guardia, in New York, Melbourne Airport, in Australia, Hamad International Airport, in Doha, and Sabia Gokcen International Airport, in Istanbul.
More than 30.1 million passengers flew into or out of Manchester Airport between the end of September 2023 and the end of September 2024. During that period the airport set monthly records in each individual month, bolstered by new routes added this year to destinations including Shanghai, Las Vegas and Casablanca helping the airport reach the 30 million passenger milestone.
In September itself 3.05 million passengers passed through the airport – up 8% on September 2023 – and 93% of those passengers waited less than 10 minutes to get to security.
Manchester Airport Managing Director Chris Woodroofe said:
“Hitting this milestone comes at a really exciting time, with our transformation programme set to be fully complete next year. It means we’ll be welcoming passengers to an airport that rivals any in major capitals around Europe in its all-around look and feel, service, facilities and the destinations it serves.
“I’m proud of everything we’ve achieved in the last 12 months. We’ve had our busiest year yet but at the same time over 98% of our passengers waited less than 15 minutes to get to security. We’ve also been given a good rating by the Civil Aviation Authority for the service we provide to disabled passengers and seen more than 80% of our passengers tell us the service they receive from us is good, very good or excellent.
“I want to thank all my colleagues and partners across the whole airport and, of course, our passengers. Joining the 30 Million Club gives us a great platform to build on and I’m excited to see everything the next 12 months bring.”
The record breaking month for Manchester Airport has come alongside Manchester Airports Group’s (MAG) announcement of a £1.1 billion investment into London Stansted Airport, which has similarly set passenger number records in recent months. Revealed as part of the UK’s International Investment Summit on 14th October, MAG will deliver an extension to the airport’s existing terminal and increase potential capacity to serve up to 43 million passengers annually. Plans, which were approved in October 2023, will create an additional 5,000 jobs and potentially double to airport’s annual economic contribution to over £2 billion, with some of that figure to return to local authorities in the North-west that collectively own a majority stake in the airport operator.