Manchester Airport enjoyed its busiest summer in five years in terms of passenger numbers during 2013.

This is according to Manchester Airports Group's chief commercial officer Ken O'Toole, who was speaking after the firm published its traffic results for October. He stated over 20 million people used the hub during this season, with more growth expected in the winter.

It was also announced 1.8 million people travelled via the airport in October alone, a year-on-year increase of 6.6 per cent. Cargo, similarly, was up 7.4 per cent to 8,620 tonnes.

Mr O'Toole said: "We have put our focus on attracting a multitude of new routes as well as increasing services on the ever popular destinations ... and we'll look to continue our progress into summer 2014."

Although much of the UK's aviation focus is on London and the Davies Commission, it can be easy to forget some of the growth and expansion occurring in the north of the country. Manchester Airport City, for instance, is a recent enterprise zone and logistics park designed to encourage businesses related to the hub.

Last week, DHL became the first company to move in, acquiring a 37,000 sq ft site for overseas distributions.