If you are citizen of an European Union member nation, you may not use this service unless you are at least 16 years old.
You already know Dokkio is an AI-powered assistant to organize & manage your digital files & messages. Very soon, Dokkio will support Outlook as well as One Drive. Check it out today!

Manchester Airport

Page history last edited by Ali Abbas 15 years, 5 months ago

Introduction

Manchester Airport is owned by Manchester Airports Group, which is in turn owned by Manchester City Council (55%) and the other nine Greater Manchester authorities (5% each).

In 2006, Manchester Airport handled over 22 million passengers travelling on around 226,000 aircraft movements. Over 100 airlines now serve over 200 destinations worldwide. The Airport is one of the UK’s major cargo airports, handling 166,500 tonnes of cargo in 2007.

More info on freight at Manchester Airport

It has produced an Airport Master Plan [1] which aims to grow passenger numbers to 50 million passengers by 2030. Oxford Economic Forecasting predicts two thirds of these passengers will start or finish their journeys in the North West. [2]

Passenger stats

The Civil Aviation Authority's passenger survey [3] provides the following stats for Manchester Airport in 2006:

Type of destination: Domestic: 16%, International: 84%
Type of airline: Scheduled: 61%, Charter: 39%
Type of journey Terminating: 97%, Connecting: 3%
Purpose of journey: Business: 20%, Leisure: 80%
Purpose & destination of journey: International Business: 12%, International Leisure: 72%, Domestic Business: 8%, Domestic Leisure: 8%
Place of residence: UK: 84%, Foreign: 16%
Place of residence (by destination): UK (international): 70%, UK (domestic): 14%, Foreign (international): 14%, Foreign (domestic): 2%
Origin/destination of terminating scheduled passengers: North West: 67%, Yorkshire & Humber: 17%
Mean income of passengers: Business (personal): £63k, Leisure (household): £44k
Percentage of leisure passengers below Manchester's average household income (£24k [4]): 28%
Socio-economic group [5] of leisure passengers: A/B: 34%, C1: 33%, C2: 22%, D/E: 11%

Carbon dioxide emissions

According to the Department for Transport [6], emissions from flights at Manchester Airport were 2.7 million tonnes in 2007, predicted to rise to 5 million tonnes in 2030.

Based on the UK's per capita emissions, we've estimated that Manchester's share of these emissions is currently around 280,000 tonnes per annum, rising to 415,000 tonnes by 2030. [7]

For comparison, Manchester's climate change strategy quotes annual emissions (excluding aviation) of 3.3 million tonnes in 2004, with a projection of 2 million tonnes in 2030 if they continue to follow a trajectory to a 60% cut by 2050, or 1.55 million tonnes for an 80% cut by 2050. [8]

Economics

The airport claims that it will bring an extra 18,000 jobs to the North West by 2015, and that it "will seek to increase GVA generated by the Airport to £2.3bn by 2030" [9]. They have not yet shared the full York Aviation report on which this figure is based, which is referenced on page 47 of the master plan, but here is the executive summary:

The Economic and Social Impact of MAG Airports - Executive Summary.pdf

Oxford Economic Forecasting (OEF) predict that a 10% reduction in projected passenger numbers will have a 0.0% effect on jobs in the North West. [10]

They also state "Air services are represented by a series combining business passenger numbers and freight tonnage, since these are the services that are likely to affect the efficiency of business operations." [11]

Note: The Aviation Environment Federation (AEF) have produced a critique of OEF's reports, claiming there's no proof that aviation growth leads to economic growth. [13] And Friends of the Earth's "Pie in the Sky" report concludes that the costs of airport expansion outweigh the benefits. [14]

Tourism

According to Oxford Economic Forecasting, "During 2005, there were 30 million visits to the UK by overseas residents. These visitors spent £14.3 billion. To put this in context, during 2004 (the latest year for which figures are available) there were 126.6 million trips/visits by UK residents within the UK, with a total spend of £24 billion." [12]

Of the 30 million visits, 22 million travelled by plane, and only 1.22 million of those arrived at Manchester Airport [12]. Given that only two thirds of Manchester Airport's passengers start or finish their journeys in the North West [2], that means 810,000 overseas residents visit the North West via Manchester Airport, resulting in a contribution of £390 million to the North West's economy.

Alternatively, given 1.8 million of the North West's overseas tourists arrive by air (78% of the total of 2.3 million), and spend £790 million in the region [12], then if 810,000 of these arrive at Manchester Airport, that equates to a spend of £360 million.

However, Friends of the Earth argues that if you compare this to the amount spent by UK citizens abroad, there is a regional tourism deficit. Their report [15] concludes that inward visitors spent £500 million in the North West in 2004, while outbound visitors spent £2.7 billion abroad, resulting in a £2.2 billion deficit. This is predicted to grow to £4.4 billion by 2020.