As Manchester Airport welcomed its 20 millionth passenger, tour operator Thomson took delivery of its fleet of 787 aircraft from Boeing and Chancellor George Osborne marked the start of building work at Manchester’s £650m Airport City project.
Last year the airport set the target of 20 million passengers which is already heading toward 22 million by the end of the summer, some of whom will be travelling further and in greater comfort aboard Thomson’s new state of the art, quieter, lighter and more environmentally friendly 787 as it 20% less fuel.
Manchester Airports Group chief executive
Charlie Cornish (left) said:
“This was a target we’ve had our sights on this
summer and I’m delighted we’ve reached it
ahead of schedule.
“We’ve worked hard to highlight the routes and
services available here from all of the airlines
and spread the message across the north of
England.
“We believe Manchester can play a bigger role
in serving the needs of passengers whether they fly long or short haul. We’re not going to stop here either and want to get past the peak of 22 million we reached in March 2008.”
The new Dreamliner 787 aircraft will fly from Manchester to Cancun in Mexico and to Sanford, Florida routes from July 8. Additional long haul routes to the Far East are also planned.
Meanwhile, Chancellor George Osborne marked the start of building work at Manchester’s £650m Airport City project.
As the local Tatton MP, who granted the development Enterprise Zone status, was joined by project director Karen Campbell and Manchester Airports Group chairman Mike Davies he said he and his government were “excited about the prospect of Airport City,” which is hoping to create up to 20,000 of jobs by 2015.
Mr Osborne later added:
“Manchester Airport is already an economic growth area and we look forward to seeing the first buildings and companies announced. This is a long term project for the North West and I’m pleased to see so many partners working together to make it a success.”
Ms Campbell said: “Today is a significant moment in the timeline of the project.
Transport for Greater Manchester is building the road access to Airport City.
Airport bosses expect 14 million passengers to use the airport in the summer alone.