If you look at all of the airports in the MAG group, none of them are growing fast.
Erm ... have you noticed STN's numbers over the last couple of years? Though they will slow down a bit this Summer. And EMA's specialist cargo operation is thriving ... it is not all about passenger services.
It's almost like MAG have become the BAA they used to despise!
Despised the BAA??? When did they say this?
Perhaps the management teams at the airports are losing passion which is so often the case when managed by a head office that doesn't understand the local requirements.
Well, let me stick to MAN as the one I know best. New GBP1Bn Transformation Plan [T2 redevelopment and taxiway layout re-design] approved and much more to come, 13% increase in airseat capacity for the forthcoming S16 season, several prestigious new routes secured including Beijing, Boston, Los Angeles, a second carrier on Islamabad and various short-haul destinations, several additional based aircraft, US pre-clearance application being progressed, rail and tram access improvements recently completed, A6MARR link-road under construction ... even an enlightened policy to accept diversions again when they can. Oh, and Virgin Atlantic will be adding San Francisco and Boston next year. Yep, sounds like they've "lost passion" there!
It is certainly showing through in the lack of independence for each airport under MAG control.
Airport groupings always manage certain functions centrally to maximise cost-savings and synergies. The system isn't perfect ... I'm keen to see MAN market its own cargo operation, for example. But group oversight makes general good sense in large businesses such as MAG.
You just need to look at the speed of growth at similar airports oversees and even some back home like Glasgow, Belfast, Bristol, airports which arn't any better or worse per se than MAG airports in terms of catchment areas and local road access.
Each airport has unique circumstances affecting it. Name a so-called
similar overseas airport to MAN and most on here could immediately point out a list of very significant differences. Meanwhile, you believe that airports located in the Scottish lowland belt and Northern Ireland have catchment areas comparable in scale to that at MAN? Have you looked at UK / NI population distribution?
ACL is forecasting 13% increase in seats ex-MAN this Summer. There are still some doubtfuls in there (a 'paper' airline to LCA, some remaining Egypt programmes annotated as TBC, Pegasus daily SAW), so lets call it +12%. That is still outstanding growth. And remember that over recent seasons MAN load factors have grown ahead of capacity increases.
Challenges remain (inevitably) as in any large business, but your criticism appears way OTT.