Airport’s ongoing success is a cause for celebration

WHEN I was a student, with a little too much time on my hands, I became mildly obsessed with a particular American drama.

There was one series which opened with a scene that I just loved. It featured a recap of what the key characters were up to, with Frank Sinatra’s It Was a Very Good Year as the soundtrack.

I remember thinking at the time what the best year of my life had been so far and what would be the most memorable in years to come.

As a 19-year-old, the year in which I finished my A-Levels and went on my first holiday with friends stood out at the time but, of course, since then there have been many highs and lows I can point to.

I am involved with a number of awards programmes and when I interview various businesses or individuals in the running for prizes, I always ask them what it is in particular about the past 12 months that has stood out for them.

What has made it a ‘very good year,’ compared to any other, run-of-the-mill 12-month period.

Last week, we heard some news from one of the most important organisations to Manchester – the airport.

It revealed a 10-year, £1bn investment programme that will make it one of the world’s finest gateways. And it made me think that this is a business that has had not just one ‘very good year’ but several on the trot.

In the space of a few years, it has secured investment from an Australian infrastructure company, which led to a bumper windfall for its council shareholders.

After that, a partnership with the Beijing Construction and Engineering Group was revealed in connection with its £800m Airport City project, which will aim to lure global companies here, creating tens of thousands of jobs in the process.

Then, there have been various key route announcements, such as a direct flight to Hong Kong, with Cathay Pacific, meaning the region’s links with the high-growth Chinese economy have been boosted. More recently, there has been news of services to Los Angeles and Boston, meaning another strategic aim of boosting connections to the west coast of America has been achieved.

The airport truly is an economic dynamo and plays such an important role, not just to those of us who want to jet away on holiday each year, but to the region’s global trade.

That is why its ongoing success is to be celebrated.

So, here’s hoping to several more ‘very good years’ in the future.