Manchester Airport records second busiest ever month

More than 3.3 million passengers passed through Manchester Airport in July making it the second busiest month the northern hub has ever recorded.

July’s total is 2.4% higher than the same month in 2025. The airport’s best ever month was in August last year, when just below 3.5 million passengers flew in or out of Manchester.

The school summer holidays have driven the surge in passengers, and Antalya in Turkey and Palma in Mallorca were the most popular destinations.

August is now expected to be an even busier month for Manchester Airport, and the airport is offering advice to passengers to keep things moving.

In July, nine in 10 passengers waited for 15 minutes or less to get through security with the vast majority waiting less than 10 minutes; however, passengers are still advised to make sure they arrive at the airport two hours ahead of their flights (or three hours for long haul flights) in line with airline advice. This allows plenty of time to check-in and get through security meaning that even if there is a hold up, passengers will not be in danger of missing their flights.

The airport has also given passengers advice on how to make sure their hand and hold baggage get through security checks unchallenged. Bags that need extra checks are one of the biggest causes for hold-ups, and liquids greater than 100 ml, multi-tools, and large squishy toys packed in hand baggage, or packing lithium batteries in hold baggage are the most common mistakes passengers make.

Jennifer Byrne-Smith, Director of Customer Operations at Manchester Airport, said:

“Here at Manchester Airport we’re proud to connect the North to the world – and the summer holidays mean we’re connecting hundreds of thousands of passengers to their favourite destinations every week.

“We’ve got lots of extra staff in place and our brand new, £1.5bn Terminal 2 means we’re well equipped to get everyone on their way – but the airport is busier than usual so we suggest people due to fly take a few steps to give themselves the best start.