Manchester Airports Group is the largest British-owned airport operator, and two of its portfolio of four – Manchester and East Midlands – are exhibiting at Airfreight Asia 2007, a first foray into the Far East for the group.

Cargo is very important to both airports, but it’s hard to imagine two less similar business plans. Manchester is primarily a passenger airport with around 800 flights a day, only 12 of which are pure cargo. Around 55% of its freight is carried in the belly holds of passenger aircraft.

Manchester Airport’s Michael O’Connor is particularly proud of the fact that the airport has attracted five new cargo carriers in the past six months, including Great Wall Airlines from Shanghai (four flights weekly); Jet 8 from Singapore (two flights weekly); FedEx (four flights weekly); Aeroflot (one weekly flight); and Air China (three weekly flights).

“The emphasis is on Manchester’s growing links with the Far East which makes it all the more appropriate that we should be here in Hong Kong, publicising the advantages of our airports to airlines and operators in this part of the world,” he says.

Both airports are well connected, being close to Britain’s major motorway network.

East Midlands airport is close to the central English cities of Nottingham, Leicester and Derby. It has around 50 freight flights each night and almost all its cargo throughput is carried on dedicated freighters. DHL’s UK air freight hub, with35 flights a night. The airport performs a similar function for the Royal Mail’s nightly services around the UK with first class post. Both UPS and TNT also use the airport on a regular basis.

Source: Flight Daily News

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