MAG, the operator of Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands airports, saw continuing growth in November as new long-haul routes saw its airports serve 7.7 per cent more passengers than in the same month last year.

All three of MAG’s airports grew significantly year on year, with London Stansted growing 8.7 per cent to welcome 1.98 million passengers, Manchester up 7.1 per cent to 1.85 million passengers and East Midlands Airport growing 4.7 per cent to welcome 232,000 passengers in November.

The growth – which mirrors that of Heathrow - means that Manchester Airport has now seen two successive months of strong growth in passenger numbers, as the successful ‘backfill’ of slots previously operated by Monarch leads to further growth across the winter season.

This growth was further bolstered by the successful introduction of a new long-haul link from Manchester to Mumbai with Jet Airways.

Overall, long-haul traffic to the Caribbean, Middle East and Asia was up 8.8 per cent year on year as Manchester continues to play a major role in connecting the north to global economic hubs.

The record-breaking November at London Stansted Airport saw an additional 158,000 passengers fly through Stansted compared with in the same month last year, boosted by a new daily link to Dubai with Emirates and expanded schedules from Ryanair, Jet2.com and others.

November also became a landmark month for Stansted’s future, as its planning application to increase the number of passengers it is permitted to serve to 43 million a year was approved by Uttlesford District Council.

All MAG airports are gearing up for busy festive seasons, with London Stansted expecting 150,000 more passengers than over last Christmas and New Year, Manchester 100,000 more and East Midlands 17,000 more.

Tim Hawkins, chief strategy officer, MAG, said: “Our airports are proving more and more popular.

“Following a solid summer, they are once again growing strongly through winter, particularly with new long-haul routes being launched in recent months.”