Manchester Airport set for busiest weekend of the year as 400,000 passengers expected for August Bank Holiday

If you are flying in or out of Manchester Airport this weekend, then you’ll be part of a record number. Around 400,000 passengers are expected to use the airport this weekend as Manchester Pride takes place and the school summer holidays draw to a close. 

Friday August 25 saw over 103,000 people pass through the airport, with Palma, Dublin and Antalya among the most popular destinations. The August bank holiday weekend signals the beginning of the end of a busy summer period, which has seen nearly 13 million people use the airport. 

Long haul flights are set to be particularly popular with passengers this weekend. Around 6,000 people are expected to use the thrice daily flights to Dubai with many more heading out to Doha and Orlando. 

Manchester Airport Managing Director Chris Woodroofe said: “Manchester Airport is proud to give the people of the North easy and affordable access to an ever-increasing list of global destinations. We are committed to providing a great experience to all passengers, and feedback this summer season in particular has been extremely positive, building on the strong Christmas and Easter getaways we delivered.

“This has been driven by investment in our people – we have recruited more than 3,000 colleagues since April 2022 and set up our brand new 100-person resilience team, trained ina variety of roles so it can respond at short-notice to solve a wide range of challenges. 

“It is also driven by investment in our facilities, especially the £1.3bn transformation of Terminal 2, through which more than 80% of our passengers will fly by 2025. Thanks to all that and more we’re going into the busiest weekend of the year feeling confident that we’ve delivered one of our best summers ever.”