Airport announces cash boost for councils after growth

£107.1 million will be poured into councils across Greater Manchester

Published 5th Jul 2018

Every council in Greater Manchester is set to get at least £5.4 million pounds from Manchester Airport, thanks to huge growth of the owners MAG.

The £107.1 million dividend comes from revenues and profits across the group, which they say has gone up thanks to a rise in passenger numbers at Manchester.

An extra 1.8 million people flew from the airport in the last financial year.

The performance now means Manchester City Council will get 58.9 million pounds, while each of the other councils will get £5.4 million.

Andrew Cowan, Chief Executive of Manchester Airport, said:

"It could be invested in things like parks, or community projects. It really does help those local authorities to invest in and support community projects that they otherwise might not be able to, if we didn't provide that dividend stream.

"We always say that we have a very strong relationship with communities and authorities in the region.

We are one of the largest employers, every million passengers that we add, we then also add an extra 1,000 employees and that creates additional growth, so we're very excited to continue working with them.

"We are a massive driver of economic growth within the region. The contribution that having global connectivity makes to businesses and for leisure travellers is enormous, so it's a fantastic facility that provides support for the local area, and also the wider northern economy."