Stansted returns to passenger growth
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Manchester Airports Group (MAG) will be celebrating this week after Stansted Airport saw its first full year of passenger growth in six years.
The Essex airport carried more than 17.84 million people in 2013, representing a 2.2% increase compared to 2012.
It is the first time since 2007 that the airport has managed to see an increase in passenger numbers, after a series of route cuts damaged its figures.
December was the airport’s fourth consecutive month of growth with a 7.7% rise in passengers year-on-year.
MAG’s Manchester Airport also performed well in 2013, seeing its 19th consecutive month of passenger growth in December 2013. The airport flew 1.3 million passengers last month, up 5.4% year-on-year.
“Stansted has enjoyed a very positive and encouraging first ten months under the new ownership of MAG. December’s traffic results are a clear indication that Stansted is back and successfully competing with other London airports,” said the airport’s managing director Andrew Harrison.
“We now expect the airport to enter a period of sustained growth this year following the signing of long-term agreements with both Ryanair and easyJet. These deals will ensure Stansted is once again London’s fastest growing airport over the next five years and will see the airport serving more than 30 million passengers a year by 2024. We also believe Stansted will be full by around 2030 when we reach the current planning limit of 35 million passengers a year.”
MAG is now focused on developing long-haul routes from Stansted and is drumming up local businesses to put forward the case for direct links to the Middle East, North America and Asia.
Its GBP80 million redevelopment also continues with a new security area opening before Christmas and an on-going campaign to improve rail services to and from the capital.
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