Pictured: Collette Roche Deputy CEO and Christoph Debus Thomas Cook Airlines CEO
Manchester airport has reached a milestone of 25 million annual passengers for the first time since opening in 1938.
This equates to annual growth of 9.3% and has been driven by the addition of new long-haul services and increased frequency and capacity on short haul routes.
The top ten most popular international destinations over the last year from the airport’s 210 routes were: Amsterdam, Dublin, Dubai, Tenerife, Alicante, Palma, Malaga, Paris, Orlando and Faro.
The airport is set for continued growth with capacity for up to 55 million passengers on its two runways.
The 25 millionth passenger was flying with Thomas Cook Airlines to New York.
Airport deputy chief executive Collette Roche said: “We are really pleased to have hit this significant milestone and look forward to continuing to grow our passenger numbers.
“At a time when capacity in the south is constrained, we are adding more passengers and routes than ever before.
“In the last year alone we have launched flights to Houston, Beijing, Boston, to name a few, all of which can only be found at Manchester outside of London. This underpins the role we play in the north as the global entry point of the Northern Powerhouse and as economic provider and job creator.
“We have more than 22 million people living within two hours of Manchester Airport and our continued addition of new routes and increased frequencies is seeing both business and leisure customers choose Manchester, rather than other airports.
“With two full-length runways and a £1 billion transformation programme announced, Manchester airport has, and will continue to have, the available capacity and demand to meet the needs of our catchment area and beyond.”
Thomas Cook chief airlines officer Christoph Debus said: “We are delighted having supported Manchester airport reaching the 25m passenger mark with our double digit growth in Manchester this year.
“With our 17 long-haul destinations from Manchester, we are the largest long-haul carrier in the north, offering excellent and award winning service at the lowest fares.”