Council lands airport windfall

RECORD passenger numbers . . . at Manchester Airport

RECORD passenger numbers at Manchester Airport have triggered a £4.5million windfall for Oldham Council.

Manchester Airports Group (MAG), which is part owned by the region's councils, has announced record profits ­- revenues rose from £779m to £840m over the 12 months to March 31 ­- while pre-tax profits were up eight per cent from £318m to £343m.

The financial figures for the six months to March 31 show a total windfall of £140.9m to MAG shareholders for the full year, or an increase of 21.7 per cent year on year.

It means Greater Manchester's 10 town halls will receive their biggest ever payout - £91m. Oldham's share is £4.5million, the same as the other councils apart from Manchester, which will net £50m for the full year.

MAG - which runs Manchester, Stansted, East Midlands and Bournemouth airports - credits the result to record passenger numbers and commercial success.

Over the last 12 months, Manchester Airport, which is undergoing a £1bn transformation, has seen a record 27m people pass through its three terminals - the most in its 79-year history.

Collette Roche, acting managing director for Manchester Airport, said: "Our continued growth of passengers and destinations clearly highlights the role we play in UK aviation and as the global entry and exit point of the Northern Powerhouse. This is further reinforced by the strong financial results issued today by MAG."

Cargo also saw a boost with 10,952 tonnes carried - an increase of seven per cent on June 2016.

The last financial year saw Manchester Airport enter the European top 20 busiest airports.

For the 12 months ending March 31, 2017, MAG's passenger numbers for the year were up to 55.9m across all its hubs, an increase of 7.7per cent.

Last year the councils scored nearly £74.7m in total - with Manchester city council getting a £41m slice and the other nine councils £3.7m - of the total £115.8m dividend.

The remainder will go to Industry Funds Management, the Australian investor that bought into the group ahead of its swoop for Stansted Airport.

MAG CEO, Charlie Cornish, said: "Our plans for significant investment in Manchester Airport and London Stansted will not only improve the experience for passengers and airlines using our airports but also provide the foundations upon which we will be able to meet anticipated future demand."

More than 2.75m passengers flew in and out of the airport in June - an increase of nine per cent on June 2016.

Also last month, Hainan Airlines celebrated one year of flying to Beijing, while Cathay Pacific boosted its flights to Hong Kong to five a week.

There have been a number of new routes this year too - including Muscat, San Francisco, Boston, Los Angeles, Houston, Riyadh, Nuremberg, Casablanca and Tobago.