| Manchester Airport | |
| Image2-Width: | 250 |
| Iata: | MAN |
| Icao: | EGCC |
| Wmo: | 03334 |
| Type: | Public |
| Owner-Oper: | Manchester Airports Group |
| City-Served: | Greater Manchester |
| Location: | Ringway, Manchester, England, United Kingdom |
| Elevation-F: | 257 |
| Coordinates: | 53.3539°N -2.275°W |
| Pushpin Map: | United Kingdom Manchester#United Kingdom Greater Manchester#United Kingdom |
| Pushpin Label: | MAN/EGCC |
| R1-Number: | 05L/23R |
| R1-Length-M: | 3,048 |
| R1-Surface: | Concrete |
| Metric-Rwy: | yes |
| Stat1-Header: | Passengers |
| Stat1-Data: | 28,096,783 |
| Stat-Year: | 2023 |
| Footnotes: | Sources: MAG Manchester Airports Group website, UK AIP at NATS Statistics from the UK Civil Aviation Authority[1] |
| R2-Number: | 05R/23L |
| R2-Length-M: | 3,050 |
| R2-Surface: | Concrete/ grooved asphalt |
| Stat2-Header: | Passenger change 22-23 |
| Stat2-Data: | 20.3% |
| Stat3-Header: | Aircraft movements |
| Stat3-Data: | 180,246 |
| Stat4-Header: | Movements change 22-23 |
| Stat4-Data: | 13.7% |
Manchester Airport is an international airport in Ringway, Manchester, England, south-west of Manchester city centre.[2] [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 and has flights to 199 destinations, placing the airport thirteenth globally for total destinations served.[5]
Some of Runway 05R and Runway 23L Come under both Greater Manchester And Cheshire East
Officially opened on 25 June 1938, it was initially known as Ringway Airport, a name still in local use. 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.[6] The new terminal is due for completion in 2025 will take 80% of all passenger traffic.[7] Terminal 3 will remain with a focus on low-cost, short-haul airlines.
See main article: History of Manchester Airport and Ringway, Manchester. Construction commenced in Ringway parish on 28 November 1935 and the airport was partially operational by June 1937, with full construction completed on 25 June 1938.[8] Its northern border was Yewtree Lane between Firtree Farm and The Grange, east of the crossroads marked "Ringway", and its southeast border a little west of Altrincham Road, along the lane from Oversleyford running northeast then east into Styal. In 1938, KLM became the first airline to launch scheduled commercial flights to Manchester.[9]
During World War II, RAF Ringway was important in military aircraft production and training parachutists. After the War, the base reverted to a civilian airport and gradually expanded to its present size. Manchester was Britain's second-busiest airport, after Heathrow, by the 1960s.[10]
In 1946, Air France began operations from Manchester following the commencement of peacetime passenger services from the airport, and remains the airport's longest continuous operator, celebrating 75 years of service in 2021. In 1953, Manchester began 24-hour operation, with the ability to handle flights during the day and night, which helped the airport handle 163,000 passengers. 1953 also saw the start of intercontinental flights by Sabena Belgian to New York, followed closely by the launch of services to New York by BOAC.
The first transatlantic flights to originate at Manchester began in 1963. The thrice-weekly service was operated by BOAC using a Boeing 707 via Prestwick. In 1969, the runway was extended to, allowing aircraft to take off with a full payload and to fly non-stop to Canada.
In 1971, the airport reached a milestone of handling over 2million passengers in one year. The following year saw the opening of a link road connecting the airport to the M56 Motorway, improving road access from Manchester, Cheshire and North Wales. In 1975, Ringway was officially renamed Manchester International Airport.
The airport saw rapid growth and expansion during the 1980s and 1990s, shaping the airport for the coming decades. Many of the developments made during this period remain in place or have only recently been altered following the introduction of the Manchester Transformation Project. Passenger numbers continued to grow, reaching the milestone of handling one million passengers a month for the first time in 1987. This growth boosted expansion plans, including planning for a new terminal. The following year, in 1988 Manchester celebrated its Golden jubilee.
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. 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.[11] [12] [13]
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.[14]
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. 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.
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.
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.
During the later part of the decade, Monarch Airlines, Thomas Cook Airlines and Flybe all entered administration and ceased operations, having a major impact on local employment and operations at Manchester, as well as leaving thousands of passengers stranded, many abroad. Monarch was an operator at Manchester between 1981 and 2017, operating short and medium flights to Europe, and had its own maintenance base at the airport.[15] It entered administration and ceased operations in 2017.[16] Thomas Cook Airlines was a major operator at Manchester, operating scheduled and charter flights to over 50 destinations in Europe, America and the Caribbean. Its parent company also had a maintenance base at the airport.[17] The airline entered compulsory liquidation in September 2019, with many aircraft left parked at the airport while payment disputes were concluded.[18] Flybe was a British airline with a significant base at Manchester, which provided more than half of UK domestic flights outside London. Plans were formulated by a consortium Including Stobart Air and Virgin Atlantic to save FlyBe with the launch of Connect Airways, but plans were dropped in early 2020 and all operations ceased.
Like most British and international airports, Manchester has been severely affected by the global COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent reduction in air passengers. A number of airlines ceased, paused or reduced routes to the airport. The reduced passenger numbers saw the temporary closure of both Terminals 2 and 3.[19] In late 2020 American Airlines announced that its daily flights to Philadelphia would cease operation amid ongoing travel disruption caused by the Coronavirus outbreak.[20] The departure of American Airlines also marked the final US-based airline at Manchester. American Airlines had previously operated services to New York–JFK, Chicago, Dallas, Miami, Boston, and Charlotte.[21] Data recorded and published by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) show that during the first 11 months (January through November) of 2020, passenger 'Terminal & Transit' numbers dropped from 29,374,282 in 2019 to 6,787,127 in 2020.[22]
See also: Airport City Manchester. 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:
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.
Terminal 1 is used by airlines with scheduled and charter operations, flying to European and other worldwide destinations. It is the second largest terminal at the airport. It was opened in 1962, by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh,[24] and it is a base for easyJet. Terminal 1 is spread over an area of 110000m2.
The terminal has two piers which combined have 29 stands, of which 15 have air bridges. Gate 12 was specially adapted to accommodate the Airbus A380, which is operated by Emirates on their route three times per day from Dubai to Manchester.[25] Terminal 1's current capacity is around 11million passengers a year, compared with an annual capacity of 2.5 million passengers when it first opened.
In the Summer of 2009, a £50 million redevelopment programme for Terminal 1 was completed, which included a new £14 million 14-lane security area.[26] Passenger flow on Terminal 1's gating piers is due to be realigned, with plans to redesign the piers so departures and arrivals do not contraflow on the same level, allowing larger seating areas at the gates, express retail outlets and a dedicated lounge and gating area for future Airbus A380 flights. Currently only Gate 12, Pier B, has been upgraded to accommodate the A380. Part of this work saw the removal of the South Bay remote aircraft stands, constructed in 1962 between taxiways Juliet and Kilo and more recently re-aligning taxiway Juliet into an extended taxiway Bravo.
Terminal 1 is not planned to be included in the ten-year airport expansion project, and will shut in 2025 when the new Terminal 2 is completed.[27] In 2025, Airlines operating from Terminal 1 will move across to the new Terminal 2, and Terminal 1 will be 'Mothballed'.
Terminal 2 is used by a variety of airlines, operating both charter and scheduled flights to many European and worldwide destinations.
Terminal 2 is spread over an area of 52000m2 and has 16 gates, of which 20 have air bridges. The design of the terminal makes it capable of extensive expansion; building work has begun for an extension providing additional gates, together with the construction of a satellite pier. Terminal 2's current capacity is around 8 million passengers a year; this will be extended to ultimately handle 25 million passengers a year. In 2007, an £11 million project commenced to redevelop Terminal 2 by improving security facilities and enhancing retail and catering services.
Terminal 2 received a major extension, completed in 2021, to encompass formerly remote stands to the west. Between twelve and fifteen covered aircraft stands have been made available by this. An air side link for transferring passengers between Terminals 1 and 2 is at the planning stage, designed in an effort to boost Manchester's chances of becoming a major hub airport and minimise missed connections. It was announced in June 2015 that the airport would have an expansion taking ten years to complete. Terminal 2 is now the most developed terminal, with new piers and also a larger security hall as well as more outlets.[28]
The first phase of the new extension, Pier 1, opened on 1 April 2019.[29] [30] The second phase, the terminal extension, was due to open in April 2020 but was delayed due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, finally opening on 14 July 2021.[31] The third phase, which was announced on 25 January 2023, includes the refurbishment of the existing Terminal 2 featuring a brand new security hall, and also includes the construction of Pier 2. Work is due to be complete in 2025.[27]
Terminal A, as it was then known, was opened in 1989 by Diana, Princess of Wales as a self contained new domestic terminal to replace the original pier A. It had many names before its expansion and re-designation as Terminal 3 in May 1998.The terminal was known in succession as "Terminal A"; "Terminal A – Domestic"; "Terminal 1A" after Terminal 2 opened in 1993; "Terminal 1A – British Airways and Domestic"; "Terminal 3 – British Airways and Domestic" before becoming simply known as Terminal 3 in 1998. In June 1998, British Airways opened their new £75 million terminal facility designed by Grimshaw Architects, this being a major extension to Terminal A and became the primary user of the terminal along with codeshare partner airlines (Oneworld). Terminal 3 now spreads over an area of 44400m2.
Work began on the private terminal (adjacent to the Runway visitor park) in 2019[32] and it opened on 21 October 2019.[33] [34] The terminal has been closed since the COVID pandemic, but re-opened on 4 November 2024.[35] [36]
The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights to and from Manchester:[37]