The UK's Manchester Airports Group (MAG) saw cargo volumes in March at its portfolio of Manchester, London-Stansted and East Midlands airports affected by the Easter weekend falling partly within the month.
Manchester saw it volumes down 4.9% versus March 2016 to 9,443 tonnes, while London-Stansted fell 11.2% to 21,526 tonnes although throughput at East Midlands, the UK’s biggest airport for cargo aircraft, edged up by just 0.3% to 30,395 tonnes.
MAG said in a statement: "Year on year cargo figures were affected by Easter weekend falling partly in March this year, meaning a loss of working days relative to last year."
Over the past 12 months, MAG's airports have handled 748,000 tonnes of cargo, a 7% year on year growth.
By contrast, the UK's London-Gatwick airport saw its March cargo tonnage grow by 21.7% in March to 9,533 tonnes.
A spokesperson for the airport said: "With Gatwick’s long-haul route network growing rapidly, and its global connectivity continuing to strengthen even further, the volume of cargo handled by the airport also continues to thrive."
Gatwick Airport is owned by a group of international investment funds, of which Global Infrastructure Partners is the largest shareholder.
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