Manchester Airport records its busiest March on record

Image courtesy MAG

The busiest destinations in March were Amsterdam and Dublin – but this month holiday hotspots like Alicante, Mallorca and Tenerife are surging in popularity as the travel industry’s summer season kicks off in earnest.

Manchester Airport has extra staff in place help make sure that customer service levels remain high even with more passengers passing through. Last month 85% of passengers waited for less than five minutes to get to security and 99.8% waited less than 15 minutes.

The airport’s decade-long, £1.3 billion transformation programme will be complete later this year. That will see the full opening of its brand-new Terminal 2, which will become the centre of gravity for the whole airport, catering for around 70% of all its passengers.
 
It will also see a host of other improvements coming online – including things like a new digital gantry above World Way as drivers arrive at the airport and the barrierless system that has been installed at drop-off and pick-up zones at all three terminals and the train, tram and bus station.
 
The new digital gantry provides live information and directions to traffic arriving, while the barrierless system at pick-up and drop off zones means drivers will no longer have to queue to leave the areas removing the risk of that causing them to be charged for staying longer.

Manchester Airport Managing Director Chris Woodroofe (above) said: “Here at Manchester Airport we’re proud to connect the North to the World – and that means making sure people can get to the places they want to go.

“Our route network of more than 200 destinations via 50 airlines is clearly doing that and we’re seeing more and more passengers taking advantage of our status as the UK’s global gateway in the North every month.

“We have an exciting year ahead with the completion of our transformation programme not only bringing about the full opening of our world-class new Terminal 2, but also a whole range of other improvements like the digital gantry on World Way.

“Customer service is really important to us so it’s fantastic that 85% of passengers barely had to wait to get to security last month. We’re aiming to maintain fantastic levels of service over the summer months and things like the new gantry and our barrierless pick-up and drop-off zones are a part of that.

“I can’t wait to welcome all of our passengers this summer and help them start their holidays here at Manchester Airport.”

The new barrierless system was put in place at the pick-up and drop-off zones around the airport in a phased approach at the end of March and start of April. The system works via a camera system recognising a vehicle’s number plates.

Drivers who use the zones have until midnight the day after their visit to pay via a website or on the phone. Those who do not pay in time will face a fine.

Manchester Airport’s 10 year, £1.3 billion transformation programme is coming to a conclusion this year. When it is complete the airport’s brand-new Terminal 2, which has already won the UNESCO-backed Prix Versailles for architecture and design, will have doubled in size.

Work to finish that element of the project is ongoing – including fitting out more than 20 new shops, bars, restaurants and cafes like the airport’s new Chanel store, its first JD Wetherspoon pub and its exciting new Great Northern Market eating concept.

There have also been developments on the airfield to make it more efficient and plans are underway to make some changes to Terminal 3.

Last month the airport also announced a number of new routes including a service to India with IndiGo. It makes Manchester Airport the only airport in the North with a direct route to India, the world’s fastest growing major economy.