Records tumble as Manchester Airport hits key transformation milestones

More than 3.1m passengers passed through Manchester Airport last month – making it the busiest September the northern hub has ever recorded.

It represents a 1.4% increase on the same month in 2024, which was the previous busiest September on record.

The strong month was driven by passengers seeking late-summer sun with prices in September lower than in the peak of the season, while the weather in many popular holiday hotspots remained good.

It was also boosted by thousands of passengers heading to Germany for Oktoberfest and the start of the European season for football teams in the North and the Midlands, with many fans only able to fly directly to their team’s games from Manchester.

The top destinations for September were Amsterdam, Dubai Dublin and Tenerife – with more than a million passengers heading to each. Alicante rounded off the top five.

The most popular long-haul destination was Orlando with more than 380,000 people flying there.

Over the course of the month almost 95% of passengers waited for 10 minutes or less to get to security while over 77% waited for under five minutes.

Manchester Airport is in the final stages of its decade-long transformation programme, which means a greater proportion of passengers flew from the brand-new Terminal 2 than ever before.

Phase one of the project to build a brand-new state-of-the-art terminal concluded in 2021 with the opening of a new extension that doubled the size of the Terminal. The new part of the terminal has already been given the prestigious Prix Versailles for design.

Since then work has been underway to completely renovate the older part of the terminal to bring it in line with phase one. Over recent months new check-in areas, the new security hall, new shops, cafes, and restaurants and more have all opened.

It means the project is nearly finished and the airport has been able to move airlines from Terminals 1 and 3 over to Terminal 2 ahead of the closure of Terminal 1.

As a result, passengers are being reminded to make sure they check which terminal they are due to fly from before they go away – the information will be available through their airline.

Manchester Airport Managing Director Chris Woodroofe said:

“Here at Manchester Airport, we say we’re proud to connect the North to the world – and last month we saw plenty to be proud of.

“September was a great month – yet another passenger record. I’m proud that we’ve been able to deliver great service for our passengers too, with the vast majority barely waiting to get to security.

“It’s been really exciting to see more and more passengers using our new Terminal 2 – and it’s been good to hear their glowing feedback as it really is a fantastic facility.

“As we put the finishing touches to the new terminal, we’re moving more airlines over from their old homes in Terminals 1 and 3. Passengers will enjoy the new facilities – but we want to remind people due to travel to make sure they check which terminal they’re due to fly from.

“We know many of our passengers are loyal to particular airlines and will be used to flying from a certain terminal but the next time they head away that may not be the case.

“We’ll have plenty of staff available during the transition period and beyond so they will be on hand to help. I’m looking forward to welcoming more passengers this month and hearing about how much they’ve enjoyed our new facilities”   

By the time the Terminal 2 project is complete just Ryanair will operate form Terminal 3 – and work has already begun on a multi-million pound project to improve and expand that terminal.

Other milestones in recent weeks include the first flight leaving from Terminal 2’s new second pier and the opening of the terminal’s new Assistance Lounge, designed to offer a more comfortable, convenient and accessible experience.

The lounge is in the centre of the new terminal near Apiary, close to the escalators. It replaces the former assistance area near Archies.

The airport also recently announced two new routes that will run from Terminal 2 – Islamabad in Pakistan with Pakistan International Airlines and Delhi in India with IndiGo.

The new route to Delhi means Manchester Airport now offers nine flights a week to India – four per week to Mumbai and five to Delhi.

IndiGo is India’s biggest airline. Last year it served more than 118m passengers across its network of more than 90 destinations in India and 40 international destinations. It has a fleet of more than 400 aircraft.