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Manchester Airport reports 7% rise in cargo shipments

The growth in long haul flights to key markets from Manchester Airport has delivered a significant trade boost to the region, figures have revealed.

The last financial year was the best for freight at Manchester Airport since 2011, with 103,437 tonnes of cargo shipped to destinations across the globe.

That was up seven per cent on the previous 12 months and means the total value of trade delivered to/from the airport in the last year was £6,028,161,552.

Manchester Airport’s Middle East links resulted in more than 50,000 tonnes being shipped to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar.

And Cathay Pacific’s direct service to Hong Kong - launched in December 2014 - has proved to be an important trade route for the region. Nearly 6,000 tonnes of cargo were shipped to the Chinese destination last year.

Ken O’Toole, CEO of Manchester Airport, said: “Manchester Airport plays an important role in connecting the North of England to key markets around the world.

“Many of our long haul routes are not available from any airport outside of London and these figures demonstrate how these services do not just offer more choice for leisure passengers, they deliver direct trade benefits to the region.

“This underlines they airport’s role as an key enabler of growth and we expect the launch of more long haul new services to the likes of Beijing, Los Angeles, Boston and San Francisco to drive up export volumes in the coming months and years.”

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