ONLY six months after completing its acquisition of Stansted Airport, Manchester Airports Group has announced a new agreement which will see the number of passengers increase by more than 50 per cent over the next decade.
The owners have teamed up with budget airline Ryanair to plan a long-term growth agreement which will boost passenger figures from just over 13 million a year, to nearly 21 million by 2023, with a number of new routes also being announced for summer 2014.
The substantial expansion comes just months after MAG officially took over ownership of the airport in February this year.
Ken O'Toole, MAG's chief commercial officer, said: "The new long term agreement between Ryanair and MAG at Stansted shows that competition really does work, and it represents great news for both passengers and UK businesses. The deal secures a new and exciting era for both Ryanair and Stansted, and we're delighted to be supporting the airline's growth.
"We acquired Stansted in February this year believing we could significantly expand the services on offer by competing more effectively to make the most of the airport's untapped potential and spare capacity.
"We were confident Stansted would grow if we offered great value to airlines, increased passenger choice and better services and facilities.
"This announcement, coupled with our £80m investment in the terminal, confirms that Ryanair shares our confidence, and shows how we are succeeding in transforming Stansted under new ownership. Stansted has a really bright future in providing international connectivity for the UK."
Already the airports' biggest airline, Ryanair, which flies to more than 140 destinations from Stansted, is also hoping to boost jobs and traffic at the site through a number of new routes to be added by next year.
Tickets are already on sale for flights operating in summer 2014 including to the four new destinations of Bordeaux, Dortmund, Lisbon and Rabat.
Michael O'Leary, Ryanair's chief executive, added: "Ryanair is pleased to have agreed a new ten-year growth deal at London Stansted with MAG. This deal will see our Stansted traffic grow by over 50 per cent, from 13.2m in 2012 to over 20m per annum, in return for lower costs and more efficient facilities at Stansted.
"This agreement proves how UK airports can flourish when released from the dead hand of the BAA (now Heathrow Airport Holdings) monopoly and is the first dramatic initiative by MAG to reverse seven years of decline, during which Stansted's traffic fell from 23.8m to 17.5m."
The Government's Competition Commission ruled in 2009 that BAA had to sell Stansted and two of its other UK airports and, following lengthy appeals against the decision, Manchester Airports Group acquired the site in February.
The announcement of a 50 per cent increase in through traffic does not however mean that the Stansted owners will be reconsidering plans for a second runway, as the decline in numbers under BAA has left the airport under-using its potential capacity of 35 million.
