HUDDERSFIELD Town fan Andrew Harrison would like nothing better than to see the Terriers join football’s top flight.
Meanwhile, the chief operating officer at Manchester Airport has been on the ball – helping thousands of football fans take to the skies.
Recently the airport saw its biggest football flight boost since the 2008 UEFA finals when Manchester United welcomed Athletic Club Bilbao to Old Trafford and Manchester City flew out to play Sporting Lisbon in the UEFA Europa League.
Thirty-one flights from Spanish airports Bilbao and Vitoria touched down at Manchester, carrying a total of 6,500 Athletic Bilbao fans.
Over the same period, 12 flights between Manchester and Lisbon carried about 3,000 passengers as Manchester City flew out to play in the Portuguese capital city of Lisbon.
Mr Harrison said: “It’s one of the busiest periods of football flights we’ve seen for quite some time – and with passenger volumes having shown growth for 12 consecutive months now this is certainly another timely boost.
“I’m actually a Huddersfield Town fan so I am totally neutral when it comes to the two Manchester teams.”
Andrew, who has a framed Town shirt hanging proudly in his office, is following a family tradition in supporting the Terriers.
Although he was born in Bradford and grew up in Hull, both his parents are from the town and his grandfathers were Huddersfield Town fans.
Andrew now lives near Manchester but regularly makes trips back over the Pennines to the Galpharm Stadium.
“Sport is a huge economic generator for the region,” he said. “Football fans spend a significant amount of money on air transport and accommodation so along with the airport and the football clubs, the city’s hospitality and retail industries are the main beneficiaries of the increased economic activity.”
Scheduled services run throughout the year between Manchester and both Lisbon and Bilbao – operated by TAP Portugal and easyJet, respectively. However, due to the increased demand, additional charter flights were put on to carry fans from to and from Manchester.
The airport drafted in extra staff to cope with the additional passengers – with retail outlets in the terminals also stocking up on extra supplies.
Coach, bus and train operators also made additional preparations to help the fans make the eight-mile trip from the airport into central Manchester.
On May 14, 2008, the City of Manchester Stadium hosted the UEFA Cup Final between Zenit St Petersburg and Glasgow Rangers.
On May 21 that year more than 25,000 Manchester United fans flew out to Moscow to see their team beat Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League Final.
An estimated 60,000 football fans travelled through the airport during this period, generating an estimated £4m for the city’s economy.
When Old Trafford hosted the UEFA Champions League Final on May 28, 2003, it contributed to the busiest day in Manchester Airport’s history.
Over a two-day period, an extra 242 commercial flights operated via Manchester Airport, carrying an extra 43,438 extra passengers in and out of the airport.
