Manchester Airport hits 30 million passengers for the first time in its history

6.3m passengers travelled through a MAG airport in September

Manchester Airport celebrated reaching 30 million passengers served across a 12 month period, for the first time in its history

Strong operational performance across the board cemented a strong summer period marked by record-breaking passenger numbers

Positive performance comes as CEO calls for aviation to be included in new Industrial Strategy

Manchester Airports Group (MAG) had a record-breaking summer season, highlighting strong passenger demand for air travel.

Across September 6.3m passengers travelled through a MAG airport, which was 5.7% higher than in the same month in 2023.

Rolling 12-month traffic figures show the Group – which owns Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands Airports – served 63.7m passengers in the year to September 2024, surpassing the previous record of 63.4m set in August. This means that more than 1 in 5 people from the UK have travelled through a MAG airport in the last 12 months.

Manchester Airport reached a significant milestone this month, when its rolling 12-month passenger total reached 30 million for the first time in its history, up 10.5% from September 2023. This sees Manchester Airport rub shoulders with some of the best-known airports in the world, including La Guardia, in New York and Melbourne Airport, in Australia.  

As the UK’s global gateway in the North, Manchester Airport boasts the most extensive route network outside of London with more than 200 destinations on offer. 3.1m passengers flew through in the ‘shoulder season’, up by 8% in 2023, with Mallorca and Turkey proving particularly popular.

At London Stansted Airport, another record-breaking month was celebrated with 2.7m passengers travelling through its terminal across September, a 3.4% increase on  2023. The busiest-ever September saw passengers jetting off to sun-seeking destinations including Alicante and Faro.

East Midlands Airport l welcomed nearly 500,000 passengers in September, up 4.9% on the same month in 2023. Across the month, more than 34,000 tonnes of cargo came through the hub which was an increase of 9% from 2023.

Operational performance across the Group remained strong this month, with more than 99% of passengers at East Midlands Airport and London Stansted passing through security in 15 minutes or less. At Manchester Airport, it was 98%.

September also saw MAG’s CEO, Ken O’Toole call for aviation to be at the forefront of the Government’s Industrial Strategy. Writing in an article published by MAG, he highlighted aviation as a key enabler of the global success of high-value service industries.

O’Toole, said: “In delivering a record-breaking September, it was pleasing to round-off a strong summer season across MAG.

This reflects the popularity of the routes we offer at all three of our airports, whether people are travelling for business, leisure, to study or visit friends and family. By combining this choice with strong service levels and by working with our airlines to make international travel as accessible and affordable as possible, we have been able to give people what they want throughout the summer.

This underlines the importance of aviation to the economic fortunes of the UK, both as a source of jobs and opportunity and an enabler of key internationally-focussed sectors – that is why we look forward to working with Government on plans to boost growth across the country in the months ahead.”

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