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Stansted and Manchester Airport owner delivers robust passenger growth

Manchester Airports Group (MAG), the business which owns both Stansted and Manchester Airport, has revealed strong growth and robust passenger numbers in its unaudited half year results.

According to MAG, both Manchester Airport and London Stansted set new records for the period 1 April to 30 September, with both airports welcoming 15.2m and 13.3m passengers respectively.

The figures represent double-digit growth for Manchester Airport which enjoyed a record summer following on from the busiest year in its history last year, when it welcomed 25m passengers.

Revenues were also up, with MAG crediting terminal expansions at London Stansted and East Midlands Airport as fuelling 11% year-on-year retail growth, while EBITDA was up 6.6% to £215.9m.

Charlie Cornish, MAG Chief Executive Officer, said: “During the first half of the financial year, the Group has continued to exceed its challenging financial targets and delivered good growth in both passenger numbers and revenue, driven by new route offerings and the completion of the significant terminal redevelopment at London Stansted.

“Our airports will continue to be amongst the most significant drivers of economic growth in their regions, as spare capacity enables them to grow more quickly than other airports.”

Cornish used the occasion of MAG’s half-year results to push the case for a new aviation policy from the government, now that a decision had been made to greenlight expansion at Heathrow.

In light of the lengthy 10 to 15 year estimated delivery time of a third runway, Cornish said that the government should redouble efforts to improve infrastructure at its regional airports to ensure the opportunities afforded by an expanded Heathrow are felt right across the UK.

He said: “With the decision on Heathrow now made, Government must quickly commit to developing a new aviation policy that will maximise these opportunities for both the country as a whole and the regions that our airports serve.

“The short-term priority for Government must be to make the most of the runways we already have in the 10-15 year period before any new runway is ready and we are calling on them to support faster rail services to Stansted and reduce aviation taxes to encourage new connections from Manchester, particularly to key long haul markets.”

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