Manchester Airport

Details

Accessibility

https://www.manchesterairport.co.uk/help/special-assistance/

https://www.manchesterairport.co.uk/help/special-assistance/accessibility-for-all-video/

https://www.runwayvisitorpark.co.uk/help/accessibility/

Brief description

https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Manchester_Airport#Q8694

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_Airport

10 January 2025: ""Manchester Airport (IATA: MAN, ICAO: EGCC) is an international airport in Ringway, Manchester, England, 7 miles (11 km) south-west of Manchester city centre.[1][3] In 2022, it was the third busiest airport in the United Kingdom in terms of passengers (the busiest outside of London) and the 19th-busiest airport in Europe in 2023, with 28.1 million passengers served.[4]

The airport comprises a cargo terminal and three passenger terminals - although a £1.3 billion redevelopment programme will merge Terminals 1 and 2 in 2025. It covers an area of 560 hectares (1,400 acres) and has flights to 199 destinations, placing the airport thirteenth globally for total destinations served.[5]

Officially opened on 25 June 1938,[6] it was initially known as Ringway Airport, a name still in local use.[citation needed] In World War II, as RAF Ringway, it was a base for the Royal Air Force. The airport is owned and managed by Manchester Airports Group (MAG), a group owned by the ten metropolitan borough councils of Greater Manchester, with Manchester City Council owning the largest stake, and the Australian finance house IFM Investors. Ringway, after which the airport was named, is a village with a few buildings and a church at the western edge of the airport.

In 2017, an 8-year redevelopment programme commenced which will culminate with the merger of Terminals 1 and 2 to form one large terminal to better facilitate transfers.[7] The new terminal, due for completion in 2025, will take 80% of all passenger traffic.[8] Terminal 3 will remain with a focus on low-cost, short-haul airlines."

Terminal A, which now forms part of Terminal 3, was opened by Diana, Princess of Wales in 1989. In 1993, Terminal 2 was officially opened by the Duke of Edinburgh along with the official opening of Manchester Airport station.[10] From 1997 to 2001, a second runway was constructed, causing large-scale protests in Cheshire, especially in the village of Styal where natural habitats were disturbed and listed buildings demolished to make space for construction.[12][13][14]

During the early 2000s, British Airways scaled down operations from Manchester Airport with the sale of their BA Connect subsidiary to Flybe and the ending of their franchise agreement with GB Airways, a business subsequently sold to easyJet. In October 2008, the daily New York–JFK service was terminated and in March 2013 the daily to London–Gatwick was ended, although the service has resumed in recent years.

Since taking over BA Connect's select routes, Flybe has gone on to add several more destinations. In 2012, Flybe introduced the "mini hub" concept co-ordinating the arrival and departure times of various domestic services throughout the day and thereby creating combinations such as Norwich–Manchester–Belfast, Glasgow–Manchester–Southampton and Edinburgh–Manchester–Exeter with conveniently short transfer times.[15]

The Airbus A380 arrived in 2010, operated by Emirates, which continues to operate the aircraft up to three times daily on its route to Dubai

Manchester Airport celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2013. That year also saw the completion and opening of the newly constructed air traffic control tower – which is now located in an independent tower, not on top of the airport as previously – and Airport City Manchester gained planning approval.[10] During 2013, Virgin Atlantic introduced its Little Red short-haul brand to take-up some of the available Heathrow and Gatwick slots, which resulted from BMI ceasing operations. Manchester was the inaugural destination, with services were operated by aircraft leased from Aer Lingus. However, these services ceased in March 2015 because of low sales.[citation needed]

In 2014, the Manchester Airport Metrolink route launched as part of the route expansion plans of the Manchester Metrolink tramway, aiding transport to and from the airport to the city centre.[10]

In 2019, the first phase of the new Terminal 2 extension was completed, and Pier 1 opened on 1 April 2019. The second phase of the extension plan opened on 14 July 2021."

As part of the Government's Future of Air Transport white paper, Manchester Airport published its Master Plan on its proposed expansions until 2030. Demolition of older buildings, such as old storage buildings, the old Alpha Catering Building and Males Garage, to the east of Terminal 2 has already begun, to make way for a new apron and taxiway towards runway 05L/23R and an eastwards extension of Terminal 2, which is planned to provide fifteen more covered stands.

The World Logistics Hub is also part of the Airport City Enterprise Developments in south Manchester. This development is designed to meet the growing demand for cargo handling space and infrastructure outside of the southeast. Positioned on the southwest side of the A538 road, next to the southeast side of the M56 motorway across the A538 from the World Freight Terminal, it provides access to the trunk motorway network via Junction 6.

Manchester Airport has development plans to meet the growing demand to fly. One document, "The Need for Land", outlines several development ideas. Five affected areas are:

• Area A is a triangle of land between the A538 road and Runway 1 and the cargo terminal which is currently under development. It will be used together with Area E, a triangle of land west of the A538 up to the M56, with its west corner opposite Warburton Green, for the expansion of aircraft maintenance, vehicle maintenance/storage and cargo handling. The Clough Bank and Cotterill Clough areas are being enhanced with mitigation areas that will become part of the extensive Landscape Habitat Management Area. The A538 alignment to be retained and capacity has been added, as required, to meet increased traffic volumes.
• Area B is north of Ringway Road and east of Shadow Moss Road, and a car park has been provided to replace spaces lost to the Airport City development and apron/terminal expansion.
• Area C consists of several areas of land mainly inside the M56/M56 spur junction, around Hasty Lane east of M56 and around the current M56 spur. The land will be used for hotels and office space.[citation needed] Terminal 1's current capacity is around 11 million passengers a year,[24] compared with an annual capacity of 2.5 million passengers when it first opened.[24]

In the summer of 2009, a £50 million redevelopment programme for Terminal 1 was completed, as well as the construction of new car parking facilities and taxiways for aircraft.

Manchester Airport has three passenger terminals (Terminals 1, 2 and 3). Terminals 1 and 2 are linked by the skylink, with travelators to aid passengers with the 10–15-minute walk. Terminal 3 is linked to Terminal 1 and the skylink by a covered walkway. The skylink also connects the terminals to the airport railway station complex (known as The Station) and the Radisson BLU Hotel. Skylink 1 started construction in 1991 and opened 1993. Skylink 2 opened in September 1996 along with the Radisson.""

Customer Contact Centre

2nd Floor, Olympic House

Manchester Airport

M90 1QX

Email

https://www.manchesterairport.co.uk/help/contact-details/

Phone

https://www.manchesterairport.co.uk/help/contact-details/

Website

https://www.manchesterairport.co.uk/

https://www.runwayvisitorpark.co.uk/visit-us/park-information/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0j1jqxp026o

Directions

https://www.manchesterairport.co.uk/getting-to-and-from/

"Whether you’re planning to travel by car, bus, coach, bike, taxi, tram or train, we’ve plenty of options to help you get to and from the airport stress-free. In each of our transfers pages, you’ll find detailed directions and guides on how to get to Manchester Airport as well as how to reach your destination once you leave our airport.

Manchester Airport is located just south of Manchester city centre with quick and easy travel links to and from. No matter where you’re travelling to, we’ll be able to get you there calm and carefree.

Compare Greater Manchester travel options to/from Manchester Airport via the Bee Network"

https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Manchester_Airport#Q8694

"The airport is a 20-minute drive from Manchester city centre and is reached by the M56 motorway, with an approach spur from M56 junction 5. Minor local roads serve the airport from the north (Wythenshawe) and the east (Heald Green). Don't use these as shortcuts to get out of town, it's always quicker to join the motorway."

Opening Times

Always check with the venue directly for up-to-date information including opening times and admission charges as they may be subject to change https://www.runwayvisitorpark.co.uk/visit-us/opening-times-and-prices/

Transport

https://www.manchesterairport.co.uk/getting-to-and-from/

2025: ""Trains run from the Station to Manchester Piccadilly every 15 min or less between 4:15AM and 1:15AM, taking 15-20 min. Walk-up single fare is £6.20. Trains that are continuing to other northern cities may also stop at Manchester Oxford Road (for the south city centre, e.g. Bridgewater Hall) and Manchester Victoria (for the north city centre). Between 1:15AM and 4AM take the bus.

The trains to Piccadilly are usually nonstop, though a few stop at Healds Green or Gatley. For districts south of the centre it's often better to take the bus or tram, see below.

Transpennine Express trains run from the Station directly to:

• Preston, Lancaster, Penrith and Carlisle hourly, then either to Lockerbie, Motherwell and Glasgow Central, or to Edinburgh.
• Huddersfield, Leeds and York every 30 min, variously continuing to Darlington, Durham and Newcastle upon Tyne, to Thirsk, Northallerton and Middlesbrough, or to Scarborough.
• Stockport, Sheffield, Doncaster, Scunthorpe, Grimsby and Cleethorpes hourly.

Northern trains run direct to:

• Warrington and Liverpool Lime Street hourly, but it's usually quicker to change at Oxford Road.
• Bolton, Preston and Blackpool North hourly; also via Preston and Lancaster to Morecambe and Barrow-in-Furness.

Transport for Wales trains run direct hourly to Chester (1 hr 20 min), Prestatyn, Rhyl, Colwyn Bay and Llandudno (2 hr 30 min). Change at Chester for Wrexham.

There are no direct trains to London Euston, Birmingham, Bristol and the south: change at Piccadilly or Crewe or Stockport. There are connections at Piccadilly for many other destinations, but it's a large station: transferring between the upper-level platforms (trains via Oxford Road) and the main terminus platforms will take ten minutes.

The Metrolink tram runs between the airport and city centre via Wythenshawe, Roundthorn, St Werburgh's Rd, Chorlton, Trafford Bar, Deansgate / Castlefield, St Peter's Square (and a dozen or so other stops), terminating at Victoria Station. It takes an hour and an adult single costs £4.60, so it's much slower than the train for no saving, and you'd only use it for southern burbs such as Wythenshawe. It runs 6AM-midnight every 12 min; 3-6AM it runs every 20 min as far as Deansgate / Castlefield. See Metrolink section for tram connections to East Didsbury, Stretford & Altrincham, Salford Quays & Eccles, Prestwich & Bury, Newton Heath, Oldham & Rochdale, and Ashton-under-Lyne.

Local buses are the only public transport at night. Stagecoach Bus 43 runs at least every 30 min round the clock from the Station to Wythenshawe, Sharston, Northenden, West Didsbury, Rusholme, Manchester University and Manchester Piccadilly Gardens, taking just over an hour. Daytime it's at least every 10 min.

Other local buses (from Station Stands D-K, all operated by Stagecoach) also run (as of mid-2019) approx 6AM-11PM to:

Coaches by National Express run from Station Stands A, B & C to Manchester coach station on Chorlton Street every 30 min. They take 20 min and an adult fare is about £5. Through the night they run at 12:55AM, 1:40AM, 3:20AM, 3:50AM then 5:35AM when daytime service resumes. Most inter-city services involve a connection at Chorlton Street, but there are some direct coaches from the airport to Liverpool, Wolverhampton, Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield, London Victoria and Belfast."

Amenities

https://www.manchesterairport.co.uk/at-the-airport/airport-facilities/

""Manchester Airport Lounges, FastTrack, Duty Free

Left Luggage

Operated by Excess Baggage, including Bag Wrapping, Travel Goods & Bag Weighing services. Click HERE for more.

Find a quiet space for contemplation and prayer while at the airport.

How to connect to Manchester Airport's free wifi service.

All three terminal buildings have smoking areas outside that can be used before check-in and after arrivals.

See planes taking off, or book a tour of our very own Concorde.

Making airport shopping even more convenient. Reserve and collect when you fly, or collect your shopping on return to Manchester.

Discover the new private terminal at Manchester Airport.

Our unique venue provides a stunning backdrop to any event. Ideal for conferences, product launches, gala dinners, weddings, exhibitions or meetings, the venue houses one of the world’s most famous icons.""

Terminal 2 groundside has nothing until the terminal upgrade is completed. Airside are Brodericks, Burger King, Cabin, Caffè Nero, Camden Food, Greggs, Spinning Jenny and Upper Crust.

Terminal 3 groundside has Caffè Nero. Airside are Costa, Delice de France, Flat White, KFC, Kiosco, Pork & Pickle, Lion and Antelope, The Nook, and Trattoria Milano.

There are four hotels within the airport complex: the Radisson Blu, Crowne Plaza, Clayton and Hilton. (Google Map also shows Voyager House, but this is just offices.) Others listed here are so close that you might travel via the airport to reach them, even if you weren't flying. Several more that may be convenient but a little further out are listed under Manchester/South, Wilmslow and Altrincham.

Manchester city centre takes 20 min by train from the airport, but allow at least 90 min to return since you have to clear security. Bear in mind, if you decide to escape a long delay, that local airlines can briskly whistle up a spare aircraft and crew if that's what it takes to beat a technical problem, and claims for compensation. Your flight that was showing as indefinitely delayed may suddenly advance to a boarding call. If the delay was through bad weather, that could also hit your return transport, and how much fun will it be to wrench your ankle in Piccadilly in the slush?

Manchester Airport Visitor Park is located on the south-western side of the airport and is well worth a visit for any aviation enthusiast. It's home to the flagship of the British Airways Concorde fleet, and offers excellent views over the airport apron, taxiways and runways.

The Airport Hotel is a pub on Ringway Road about ½ mi (800 m) from the airport. Its beer garden overlooks the east end of Taxiway J and the eastern threshold of runway 23R which are only 50 ft (15 m) away and provides good views of east-west landing approaches and some take-off rolls.

Quarry Bank is only 3 mi (5 km) by road or 4 min by train from the airport, but it's a world away in feel. This large National Trust site covers a preserved cotton mill, estate and workers' village, and excels in its presentation of both industrial and social history. As the site is utterly absorbing and entrance fees rather pricey, allow at least two hours (and ideally twice as long) to explore.""