Manchester Airport has reached 25 million passengers for the first time since opening in 1938.

This equates to year on year growth of 9.3 per cent and has been driven by the addition of new long haul services and increased frequency and capacity on short haul routes.

The airport is the UK’s thirds largest, serving a catchment area stretching from North Wales in the west to Humberside in the east and up to the Scottish Borders. 

It is playing a key role in connecting the Northern economy - and wider UK - to key markets around the world, as well as bringing investors and tourists into the region from across the globe.

Families from all over the airport’s catchment area also have more choice than ever before when it comes to selecting a destination for a getaway.

Collette Roche, deputy chief executive of Manchester Airport, said: We are really pleased to have hit this significant milestone and look forward to continuing to grow our passenger numbers.

“At a time when capacity in the south is constrained, we are adding more passengers and routes than ever before.

“In the last year alone we have launched flights to Houston, Beijing, Boston, to name a few, all of which can only be found at Manchester outside of London.”

We have more than 22 million people living within two hours of Manchester Airport and our continued addition of new routes and increased frequencies is seeing both business and leisure customers choose Manchester, rather than other airports.