Manchester Airport smashes its November record by 13%
Image by Ian Reay / copyright Shutterstock
Over 95,000 passengers flew to or from the Dutch capital Amsterdam last month, with Dublin being the most popular destination during November.
November also saw lots of people seek out winter sun, flying to warmer spots like Tenerife, Lanzarote and Alicante, in Europe, as well as Middle Eastern destinations like Dubai and Qatar, which are also key connecting hubs to further afield destinations.
Looking ahead, there is likely to be a shift towards colder climes, as people travel in search of some festive magic. Around 25,000 passengers are expected to fly to Finland this month – with flights launching to five airports not regularly served during the rest of the year.
Although you can fly to Helsinki from Manchester all year round, in December Finnish airports in Ivalo, Kittila, Enontekio, Kuusamo and Rovaniemi join Manchester’s route network – which is already the most extensive of any UK airport outside London. That is because these airports all provide access to Lapland – home of thick snow, husky rides, pine forests and, of course, Father Christmas himself.
The extra flights to Lapland will contribute to a particularly busy period for the UK’s global gateway in the North – around 1.1 million passengers are expected to fly into our out of Manchester during the two weeks between Friday 20th December 2024 and Thursday 2nd January 2025.
Those passengers can expect a good service at the airport based on new data for November that shows 99% of passengers waited for 15 minutes or less to get to security and 82% waited for under five minutes.
Manchester Airport Managing Director Chris Woodroofe said: “Christmas is a magical time here at Manchester Airport. We’re always proud to connect the North to the world but the importance of that role really shines through at this time of year. It feels wonderful when you see travellers having emotional reunions in arrivals and families in departures getting ready to visit Father Christmas in Lapland.
“It’s also always a popular time to fly and, having broken our passenger records every month for well over a year now, we expect this Christmas to be the biggest and busiest we’ve ever seen with over a million passengers flying in the two-week festive period.
“Not only will those passengers receive a great service – last month 82% of our passengers waited less than five minutes to get to security – but they will also be able to soak up some of the magic we have here, including Santa’s grotto in our Little Flyers Zone in Terminal 1 and choirs singing carols at various spots in all three terminals.
“We can’t wait to welcome passengers to Manchester Airport this festive season.”
As the year comes to an end the airport has reached a number of other key milestones in its transformation programme – which began in 2015 and will be complete next year.
Among them is that the first work to build a brand-new road near Terminal 2 has begun. Ground was broken in the project to build Sydney Avenue – a new link road near the Thorley Lane entrance to the airport site. The new road will replace the existing Sydney Avenue and will improve traffic flow around the area.
The first trials of new taxiways on the airfield have also passed by successfully. The new taxiways allow large aircraft to pass side by side en-route to Terminal 2. It is a significant step in opening the full capacity of the new terminal.
External work on the new pier on Terminal 2 – the second pier – has also been made completed, taking it a significant step closer to completion. The piers on the terminal are structures that extend from the main building and are home to the gates where passengers embark and disembark.
Also, some of the retail spaces in the new part of the terminal have been handed over to the brands that will run them so they can be fitted out, ready to open next year.
