Figures for December show that Manchester Airport in the UK closed 2022 with strong passenger growth.
The northern hub, which is operated by Manchester Airports Group (MAG), served more than 1.7 million passengers in December 2022, the equivalent to around 88% of pre-pandemic levels in the same month. Meanwhile, total passenger numbers for last year stood at more than 23 million.
“We are now nearing 90% of pre-pandemic levels of traffic, which bodes well for our continued recovery and alongside that we have also seen a steady improvement in passenger experience,” said Chris Woodroofe, Managing Director of Manchester Airport (pictured).
Following the issues experienced at the airport last year with passengers queuing outside the terminal, due to a lack of staff shortages and a post-pandemic spike in passenger traffic, Woodroofe also underlined that: “The majority of our guests passed through security in under five minutes [in December], which is all the more impressive during the busy Christmas period.”
The airport worked closely with UK Border Force to mitigate any disruption during industrial action by PCS Union members in late December. In addition, there were no cancellations to planned flight schedules and queues at the border remained consistent with normal operations.
Alongside Manchester, MAG also owns and operates London Stansted and East Midlands Airports with all three hubs serving 3.7 million passengers in December. Across the group MAG served 30.5 million passengers in the first six months of 2022 – which represented 84% of traffic seen across the same period before the pandemic. It also recorded an operating profit of £22.8 million, compared with losses of £75.7 million in the equivalent period last year and increased revenues from £158.7 million to £528.8 million.
In relation to Manchester Airport, Woodroffe added: “We are now nearing 90% of pre-pandemic levels of traffic, which bodes well for our continued recovery, and alongside that, we have also seen a steady improvement in passenger experience. The majority of our guests passed through security in under five minutes last month, which is all the more impressive during the busy Christmas period.”
MAG CEO, Charlie Cornish, also stated: “It was great to see so many passengers back enjoying air travel again over the Christmas period and our traffic figures for 2022 demonstrate the strong recovery we have seen across all our airports over the last 12 months.
“This reflects our focus on working with airlines to provide the best possible choice and value to passengers.
“Combined with our investment in service and customer experience, this sets us up well for a positive 2023. ”
