MAG – Confidence is high!

Paul Willis, the new Group Aviation Director for MAG, brings 30 years of aviation experience to the role that will hopefully bring the Group’s portfolio of airports – Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands – back to pre-2019 traffic levels by autumn 2022.

He brings to the new role substantial consultancy planning experience, which has included air traffic management, airport capacity and air space design. Willis has also worked on several key airport projects globally, including Athens Airport for the 2004 Olympics, which then paved the way for a project on the Beijing 2008 Olympics, and more recently the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Leisure uplift

MAG’s significant leisure market is currently driving the traffic recovery, most recently including Aer Lingus’ new routes to Barbados (twice weekly, launched October 20) and fresh links to Orlando (five times weekly, starting December 11) and New York JFK (daily from December 1). Willis added: “With the Middle East and Asia markets presently sluggish, we see India and the Sub-Continent as important markets for us.”

With airlines cautiously optimistic about the market rebuild, MAG is supporting its partners with key infrastructure growth, including a new £1 billion terminal 2 opening in Manchester as well as becoming the first airport in the UK to have a direct feed of Sustainable Aviation Fuel through a partnership with Fulcrum BioEnergy Limited UK (Fulcrum).  The Group is also staying on track to reach net zero by no later than 2038,” concludes Willis.