Tonnage at Manchester Airport continues to surge due to new long-haul routes being added as in February it handled 8,066 tonnes of freight – a year-on-year (YOY) rise of 11.2 per cent on the same month in 2016.
Other Manchester Airport Group (MAG) gateways didn’t see the same growth as Stansted Airport’s tonnage was flat on the same month last year at 19,036 tonnes and East Midlands Airport saw tonnage fall YOY by two per cent to 24,523 tonnes.
MAG notes that its UK airports imported 70 per cent of all roses into the UK on Valentine’s Day last month.
MAG chief executive officer, Charlie Cornish called on the UK Government to improve links across the North of England: “Manchester Airport is continuing to show its importance in providing global connectivity to a wider and wider segment of the country.
“Now is the time for Government to start making concrete plans to improve access to the airport for the whole of the North. Businesses to the east and the west, particularly in key Northern cities such as Liverpool, Leeds, Bradford and Hull, would benefit from more rapid and convenient rail links to a globally connected airport.”
