Manchester’s airport “in premier league” agree MPs in aviation debate

Manchester’s Airport places the city “in the Premier League” but better rail links are needed to spread the benefits across the north, MPs heard.

A special debate took place in Parliament on the subject of regional airports as MPs from both main parties discussed how a strong Manchester Airport was key to realising the Northern Powerhouse vision.

A high speed east-west rail link is key to unleashing the full might of Manchester Airport.

Transport Minister Robert Goodwill praised the airport’s network of long haul flights to key markets, set to be bolstered by a direct service to Beijing with Hainan Airlines in June.

Sir Alan Haselhurst, former MP for Middleton and Prestwich who now represents Saffron Waldon, pointed to the fact Manchester Airport handled a record 23 million passengers last year but actually has the potential to deal with 55 million.

He added: “We are beset by the division between the capital city and the rest of the United Kingdom, and I find that the term regional airports somehow implies second division.

“It is like talking about the Premiership and the Championship in football and that regional airports are somehow different or less good.

“I am a northerner and at one stage I represented a Greater Manchester seat. I was very pro the development of Manchester Airport but we have never yet exploited the regional airports to their full.

“At the moment, there is an urgent need to do so, because they have usable capacity.”

Manchester Airport is a world international airport and will be investing £1bn in new infrastructure, including new terminals, ready to welcome 45 million a year by 2025. It’s two runways give capacity for 55 million passengers a year. A total of 100,000 tonnes of goods are exported out of Manchester Airport and it generates 21,000 jobs.

Current rail access to Manchester airport means that the population within a two-hour catchment of it using public transport stands at around 8 million.

Estimates predict that improved transport links from east to west would create a catchment area for the airport of 18 million people, bringing in Liverpool city region, Sheffield, Liverpool itself and Leeds, with all of them being within around 30 minutes of Manchester and Manchester Airport.

Manchester Airport achieved its 23 million milestone in November. Growth in passenger numbers has been driven by it building a route portfolio of more than 210 destinations served by more than 70 different airlines.

Long haul traffic has grown by around 10 per cent year-on-year, with currently 52 weekly flights to the Middle East, as well as a host of services to parts of America, Hong Kong and Singapore, among others. This year, direct flights begin to Beijing, as well as services to Los Angeles and Boston, with Thomas Cook.

The £1bn Manchester Transformation Programme will see the airport’s terminals improved, as it sets its sights on further growth in the years to come.

Julian Knight, Conservative MP for Solihull, said the fact there was spare capacity at airports like Manchester was “shameful.”

And Labour’s Cambridge MP Daniel Zeichner added: “Improving surface access is the Airport Operators Association’s No. 1 priority in 2016.

“So will the government recognise that too, and endorse Labour’s call for the National Infrastructure Commission to prioritise a review into rail and road access into all airports?

“In the meantime, let us commit Manchester airport to joining Birmingham International and the HS2 line, and commit to include upgrades to links to Stansted in the next rail investment period.”

Concluding the debate, Transport Minister Robert Goodwill said: “It is heartening to see that many of the airports that were impacted by the economic downturn a few years ago are now, like the economy, seeing real growth again.

“Manchester Airport is now the UK’s third largest, handling more than 20 million passengers a year.

“It has the only regular A380 service from a UK airport outside London and its routes are expanding further—Cathay Pacific is operating direct flights to Hong Kong and, starting this June, Hainan Airlines will operate four flights a week to Beijing.

“Those are the first direct scheduled flights between mainland China and a UK airport outside of London, worth at least £250m in economic benefits to the UK.

“Indeed, my big new shiny railway will be coming to Manchester as well as Birmingham airports.”

Manchester Airport managing director Ken O’Toole said: “It is pleasing to see politicians from across the political spectrum and from various parts of the UK recognising Manchester Airport’s role as a national asset based in the north of England.

“With no new runway capacity likely to be provided in the south east for 15-20 years, Manchester Airport can play an important role in the short to medium term and it has already proved to be an attractive option to long haul carriers like Cathay Pacific and Hainan Airlines.

“We will continue to drive growth at Manchester but for the wider north to benefit from what we offer, there are clear measures government can take, such as improving rail connectivity to the airport and reforming Air Passenger Duty.”