Manchester Airport ushers in Year of the Horse after year of record travel to East and Southeast Asia

More than 520,000 passengers travelled on direct flights between Manchester Airport and connections in east and southeast Asia last year, up from 363,000 in the previous year.

The figures for 2025 also represent a staggering five-fold increase since 2013, the year that the Manchester China Forum was established, when just 90,000 passengers travelled on direct flights to the region.

Since then, Hainan Airlines and Juneyao Air have established flights from Manchester to Beijing and Shanghai respectively – and both increased their capacity in 2025, with up to three flights per day now operating between Manchester and China.

Singapore Airlines – which celebrates its 40^th anniversary of flying to Manchester this year – operates a direct flight to Singapore Changi five days per week, while Cathay Pacific offer direct flights to Hong Kong.

Last year’s figures were also given a boost by Norse Atlantic launching Manchester’s first ever direct flight to Bangkok – the world’s most-visited city – in November.

To mark Lunar New Year the UK’s global gateway in the North has illuminated its famous honeycomb lights in red, gold, pink and orange. Hainan Airlines also surprised passengers on its inbound flight on 16th Februrary with a free horse plush toy to celebrate the Year of the Horse. The airline was also represented in Manchester’s Lunar New Year parade.

Stephen Turner, Chief Commercial Officer at Manchester Airport, said:

“We’re proud of our role in connecting the North with the world, so it’s wonderful to see thriving connections in east and southeast Asia. To top half a million passengers travelling to the region for the first time is an outstanding achievement but speaks to the quality of the product we’re now able to offer in our award-winning Terminal 2, as we reach the end of a decade-long £1.3bn programme of investment.

“We have no intention of standing still and we’re eager to continue our growth in this market – we know there is also still huge demand for travel to other countries and cities in the region and we are actively looking to add new routes to our network.

“For now though, I’d like to thank everyone who has chosen Manchester as their starting point for a trip to the region in the past year, and to wish everyone celebrating a very happy Year of the Horse.”