Manchester Airport owner reports record passenger numbers - but warns of challenges ahead

Manchester Airports Group (MAG), which encompasses Manchester, London Stansted, and East Midlands airports, has flown to new heights with its pre-tax profit hitting £139.6m for the first half of their financial year ending on 30 September, 2024.

This marks an increase from the previous £115.9m, buoyed by a 6.9% rise in traffic to 37.3m passengers, as reported by City AM.

MAG's success story also includes its subsidiary travel services business CAVU contributing to a revenue surge to £768.5m from £705.6m. Notably, Manchester Airport celebrated a milestone, managing 17.8m passengers during this period and reaching an unprecedented annual total of 30 million travellers in September for the first time ever.

In comparison to international counterparts such as La Guardia New York and Melbourne Airport Australia, Manchester Airport establishes its stature by entering their league. Meanwhile, London Stansted broke its own record for passenger numbers in a half-year with 16.7m visitors.

MAG also witnessed its busiest day on record during October when it serviced 107,000 passengers within a single 24-hour timeframe. Additionally, East Midlands Airport saw a steady flow of 2.8m individuals over the six months.

Despite facing increased taxes and operational costs, MAG CEO Ken O'Toole highlighted the group's achievement stating: "Across the summer, one in five UK air passengers chose to fly through a MAG airport for business, leisure, to study or visit friends and family."

"This is testament to the strength of our route networks, our commitment to providing great choice and value to all our customers, and to always striving to deliver a positive passenger experience."

"While our industry faces challenges both in the UK and globally, such as increasing taxation and rising costs linked to the push towards full decarbonisation of air travel, MAG’s strong financial and operational performance makes us well-placed to drive forward our investment programmes as we continue to grow."