Airport is jewel in the crown

MANCHESTER Airport - which is part-owned by Oldham Council - is flying high after being crowned UK Airport of the Year at the annual Airport Operators’ Association awards.

Winning in the Passengers over Six Million category, the UK’s third-largest airport was up against Heathrow, Gatwick and Birmingham and received the accolade due to a phenomenal year of growth.

Chief operating officer Andrew Cowan said: “It’s been an incredibly successful year and we hope to soon see passenger numbers back over 22 million – a symbolic figure we’ve not seen since 2007.

Manchester Airport has also confirmed new routes to Miami, Jeddah, Toronto, Vienna and Pisa this year while strengthening services to North America with increased frequency on routes to New York and Atlanta.

Manchester Airports Group also owns London Stansted, East Midlands and Bournemouth Airports. Combined total annual passenger numbers for MAG are in excess of 45 million.