MANCHESTER Airport has broken its record number of passengers, with more than 25 million flying through it in a year for the first time.

This summer was the airport’s busiest ever, taking the number of passengers past the record mark, while the airport is showing double-digit passenger growth every month as a result of an increase in destinations and airlines.

The growth has seen the airport’s earnings from April 1 to September 30 increase by 10 per cent, while Manchester Airport Group’s (MAG) has risen by 6.6 per cent, with passenger numbers now back to pre-recession levels in Manchester and London Stansted.

Manchester is also the fourth biggest cargo airport in the UK, while the new Hainan Airlines service from Manchester to Beijing has seen load factors of 90 per cent during the summer.

Charlie Cornish, CEO at MAG, is now calling on the Government to help support the aviation industry following this year’s Brexit vote and the decision to expand Heathrow Airport.

“During the first half of the financial year, the Group has continued to exceed its challenging financial targets and delivered good growth in both passenger numbers and revenue,” he said.

“Our airports will continue to be amongst the most significant drivers of economic growth in their regions, as spare capacity enables them to grow more quickly than other airports.

“With the decision on Heathrow now made, Government must quickly commit to developing a new aviation policy that will maximise these opportunities for both the country as a whole and the regions that our airports serve.

“The short-term priority for Government must be to make the most of the runways we already have in the 10 to 15 year period before any new runway is ready and we are calling on them to support faster rail services to Stansted and reduce aviation taxes to encourage new connections from Manchester, particularly to key long haul markets.

“We will be working closely with Government and the rest of our industry to put in place a framework that will ensure the UK has the very best connections to the rest of the world - something that is fundamental building block for a modern, trading economy.”

Mr Cornish added that MAG’s long-term strategy will put the firm in a “strong position” when the UK leaves the European Union.