A STAGGERING 210,000 passengers are expected to travel through Manchester Airport this bank holiday weekend - a 10.2 per cent increase on Easter last year.

John Spooner, managing director of Manchester Airport, said: "We're expecting this Easter to be our busiest yet.

"The recent bad weather has lead to destinations like the Canaries and the Caribbean becoming really popular.

"We've also seen a massive rise in the number of people taking up city breaks, particularly to Venice, Paris, Madrid and Barcelona." An estimated 51,887 people are expected to travel through the airport on Good Friday, 58,452 on Saturday, 51,809 on Easter Sunday, and 52,321 on Easter Monday.