Passenger numbers take off at owner of Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands airports

The group which owns Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands airports has seen passenger surge over the last year amid booming demand for travel.

Some 62 million passengers passed through Manchester Airports Group (MAG)’s three hubs in the 12 months to June 2024, up 11.3 per cent year-on-year. In June, traffic hit 6.3 million, up 7.1 per cent.

The rise was driven by London Stansted Airport, which on Wednesday revealed it had passed a milestone of carrying 29 million passengers in one year for the first time. That followed the North East-London hub’s busiest ever June, in which it welcomed 2.8 million.

Manchester and East Midlands airports also saw strong growth over the last year, rising 6.7 per cent and 3.1 per cent to three million and 502,493, respectively.

Travel demand has rebounded dramatically over the last two years as holidaymakers nourish pent-up desire for trips abroad following years of Covid-19 lockdowns.

MAG raked in record revenues of £1.2bn in its full-year results last week and has plans to invest around £2bn across the group over the next five years.

According to reports, it is also mooting a £1.3bn offer for Aberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton (AGS) Airports.

Ahead of Labour’s general election victory, MAG called on the next UK government to place aviation at the “heart of their economic plan” to jum-start British business and avoid underminig growth.

The next UK government must place aviation at the “heart of their economic plan” to jump-start British business and avoid undermining growth, the boss of the UK’s largest airport group has said.

“If we want to double down on the things we are already good at, then we need to understand what these industries need to fulfil their potential, and it is clear… that strong international connectivity is of critical importance, especially as an island nation,” Ken O’Toole, chief executive, said in May.