Manchester Airport

For other uses, see Manchester Airport (disambiguation).

Manchester Airport
File:Manchester Airport logo.png
IATA: MAN ICAO: EGCC
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Manchester Airports Group
Operator	Manchester Airport Plc
Location	Ringway, Manchester, Greater Manchester
Hub for	Bmibaby Flybe Jet2.com Monarch Airlines Thomas Cook Airlines Thomson Airways
Elevation AMSL	257 ft / 78 m
Coordinates	53°21′14″N 002°16′30″W
Website	www.manchesterairport.co.uk
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 05L/23R 3,048 10,000 Concrete/grooved asphalt 05R/23L 3,200 10,499 Concrete/grooved asphalt
Statistics (2008)
Movements 204,610 Passengers 21,219,195
Sources: UK AIP at NATS Statistics from the UK Civil Aviation Authority

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Location within Greater Manchester

Manchester Airport (IATA: MAN, ICAO: EGCC) is a major airport located at Ringway in the City of Manchester within Greater Manchester, England, and is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom outside the London region in terms of passenger numbers. It offers non-stop scheduled flights to destinations across Europe, North America, Africa, South Asia, the Caribbean, Middle East and Far East.

A small part of the airport extends into Cheshire East. The terminals are located —7.5 NM (13.9 km; 8.6 mi) southwest of Manchester city centre. It officially opened on 25 June 1938, and was initially known as Ringway Airport. During World War II it was called RAF Ringway, and from 1975 until 1986 the title was Manchester International Airport.

The airport is owned and managed by the Manchester Airports Group (MAG), which is a holding company owned by the ten metropolitan borough councils of Greater Manchester, and is the largest British-owned airport group. Each of these councils has their coat of arms displayed on banners hung from the lamp posts approaching the airport. The airport has won awards including World's Best Airport 1995 and Travel Weekly Globe Awards' UK Best Airport 2008. The airport has two parallel runways, three terminals and a ground transport interchange, including a railway station.

Manchester Airport has a CAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence (Number P712) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers and for flying instruction. In 2008, Manchester Airport handled 21,219,195 passengers with 204,610 aircraft movements, making it the fourth busiest airport in the United Kingdom in passenger numbers and third in terms of total aircraft movements.

History

See also: RAF Ringway

The airport originated in mid 1934 when the location was selected to build an airfield. On 25 July 1934, Manchester City Council voted narrowly in favour of the Ringway site as the City's new airport. The site for the planned airport was at the time in the Cheshire parish of Ringway (as it was south of the River Mersey).

Construction was ceremonially started by the Lord Mayor on 28 November 1935 and was completed for civil aviation use by early summer 1938. The airport was officially opened on 25 June 1938 during a public air display that included both civil and RAF aircraft and received its first scheduled flight, a KLM operated Douglas DC-2 from Amsterdam. The airport at this time was called Ringway, named after the parish it lay within. Pre-war, KLM was the only international operator out of Ringway and offered a request stop at Doncaster. 4000 passengers used the airport in 1938 and another 4000 during the first eight months of 1939, before declaration of war brought an end to civil operations.

Construction of a Royal Air Force station commenced in 1939 on the north east edge of the airfield. RAF Ringway was used for both operational flying and training. The main user was No.1 Parachute Training School RAF which trained over 60,000 paratroopers between June 1940 and March 1946. The trainees parachuted over Tatton Park, after receiving permission from land owner, Lord Egerton.

Ringway Airport terminal building, control tower and hangars in September 1939 with a De Havilland Dragon Rapide of Great Western and Southern Airlines

A complex of hangars and assembly sheds on the north west side of the airfield was used by Fairey Aviation for the construction, modification and testing of over 4,000 aircraft. From spring 1939, Avro used the 1938-built main hangar for assembly and testing the prototype Avro Manchester, Avro Lancaster and Avro Lincoln bombers. Three southside hangars were erected in 1942/1943 and used for the assembly of Avro York military transport aircraft.

The advent of heavier aircraft types resulted in the all-grass landing area being badly damaged in wet weather during the winter of 1940/41. The ruts froze during cold weather, damaging the undercarriages of taxying aircraft. Two asphalt runways of 3,000 ft (910 m) length were therefore hastily laid down between June and December 1941. The runways were designated 06/24 and 10/28. The former was lengthened to 4,200 ft (1,300 m) by January 1943 to accommodate the four-engined aircraft now using RAF Ringway and the 3,300 ft (1,000 m) Runway 02/20 was also constructed. Runways 02/20 and 10/28 ceased to be used by airliners by the mid 1950s but the latter was used by light aircraft for another 30 years. Both are now permanently out of use.

Pier B of the 1962 Terminal (now Terminal 1) in summer 1964 showing the angled parking then used and a Dan-Air Douglas Dakota, KLM Vickers Viscount and Dan-Air Airspeed Ambassador. The public viewing terrace on the pier is visible

After the war the airport grew massively. The first trans-atlantic schedule commenced on 28 October 1953, operated by Sabena Belgian World Airlines to New York's Idlewild Airport (now JFK Airport). By 1958 the airport was handling 500,000 passengers annually. Twenty four hour operation was introduced on 1 April 1952. Another main runway extension (from 5,900 ft (1,800 m) to 7000 ft) was opened on 23 April 1958 permitting regular non-stop scheduled flights to North America. Terminal 1 was the airport's first purpose-built post-war terminal and opened in late 1962; Manchester was then the only airport in Europe to have aircraft piers.

In 1972 the airport was renamed "Manchester International Airport" and was designated an "international gateway" in the 1980s. In 1974, a Local Government Review placed the airport entirely within the city of Manchester boundaries in the new metropolitan Greater Manchester area. However, due to constant expansion of the airport it had expanded back in to Cheshire by the early 1980s. The airport has since expanded farther in to Cheshire, mainly due to the second runway being almost entirely within Cheshire.

The main runway was extended to its current length of 10,000 ft (3,000 m), opening on 17 August 1982 to attract long-haul flights from worldwide destinations. In 1988 the airport celebrated its Golden Jubilee and by this time was handling 9.5 million passengers annually. Due to increasing passenger numbers a second terminal was soon needed. In 1993, Terminal 2 and the airport railway station opened, connecting the airport to the national rail network.

In 1997 planning approval was granted for the building of Manchester's "Runway Two", now Runway 23L/05R (the fourth runway to be constructed on the site) and work started the same year. It opened in 2001 at a cost of £172 million and was the first full-length commercial runway to open in Britain for over 20 years. Another milestone was achieved in 2004, when the airport reached 20 million passengers a year. Also that year, the new £60 million integrated public transport interchange was opened (called "The Station"), bringing bus, coach and rail passengers under one roof. Manchester Airport plans to accept Airbus A380 aircraft in the next few years, as part of the larger expansion at the airport and is already certified as a diversion aerodrome for A380 flights.

On 7 June 2007, at 00:00 UTC (01:00 BST), Manchester Airport's runway assignments were changed in relation to the magnetic compass bearings. The previous headings for the runways were 056° and 236° with assignments 06L/24R and 06R/24L respectively. The new headings for the runways are 054° and 234° with new assignments of 05L/23R and 05R/23L respectively. The signs located on taxiways and entrances to the runway were changed on the evening of the 6 June 2007. The runway designators changed at the same time.

Passenger numbers

	Number of Passengers	Number of Movements	Freight (tonnes)
1997	15,948,454	147,405	94,318
1998	17,351,162	162,906	100,099
1999	17,577,765	169,941	107,803
2000	18,568,709	178,468	116,602
2001	19,307,011	182,097	106,406
2002	18,809,185	177,545	113,279
2003	19,699,256	191,518	122,639
2004	21,249,841	208,493	149,181
2005	22,402,856	217,987	147,484
2006	22,422,855	229,729	148,957
2007	22,112,625	222,703	165,366
2008	21,219,195	204,610	141,781
Source: United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority

Manchester is the fourth busiest airport in the UK and the biggest outside of London, in terms of annual passenger throughput.

In 2007, Manchester Airport was the world's 22nd busiest airport in terms of international passengers, down from 19th position in 2006 and 17th in 2005.

The airport's long range plan, published in July 2006, forecasts that passenger numbers will increase to approximately 38 million passengers annually by 2015. This would require an average annual growth rate from 2007 to 2015 of 7.1% and a sharp recovery from the reductions during the two years to December 2008. Further growth is postulated to 50 million by 2030.

In 2008 21.2 million passengers used Manchester Airport, a reduction of 4.0% compared with 2007 and below the 2004 total. There were 204,610 aircraft movements during the year, the third highest in the UK.

Security

Manchester Airport is policed by the Greater Manchester Police. Several security related incidents have occurred at the airport in recent years.

• In 2002, a security firm successfully smuggled fake explosives, detonators and genuine firearms onto a flight.
• In 2004, the BBC's Whistleblower program revealed security failures at the airport, including faulty metal detectors and a lack of regular random baggage checks.
• In 2005, after spotted acting suspiciously, police used a taser to shoot a man on the apron, after he appeared to resist arrest.
• On 6 June 2006, Aabid Hussain Khan, 21, of West Yorkshire and a 16 year old boy were arrested at the airport and later charged under Section 57 of the Terrorism Act, for conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to cause public nuisance by using poisons or explosives.

Terminals and destinations

Terminal 1 skylink

Manchester Airport has three passenger terminals (Terminals 1, 2 and 3). Following recent structural work between Terminal 1 and Terminal 3, there is no longer a covered link between the two facilities. Terminals 1 and 2 are linked by the skylink, with travelators to aid passengers with the 10-15 minute walk. The skylink also connects the terminals to the airport railway station complex (known as "The Station") and the Radisson SAS Hotel. Movement between Terminals 1 and 3 is now via a short external uncovered pedestrian route; alternatively, a free bus service exists, which also serves "The Station".

The airport provides regular direct flights to destinations worldwide by 84 airlines. North American carriers at Manchester include American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines and US Airways. UK operators serving the USA market are bmi (but see below) and Virgin Atlantic. Airlines serving the Asian market include Air Blue, Emirates, Etihad Airways, Libyan Airlines, Pakistan International Airlines, Qatar Airways, Saudi Arabian Airlines and Singapore Airlines. Manchester has been an international hub for bmi which offered several destinations from Terminal 3. On 5 November 2008, the airline announced that it is to cease all its routes from Manchester to North America including to Chicago and Las Vegas, plus holiday flights to the Caribbean. Charter airlines Thomas Cook Airlines and Thomson Airways use Manchester as their primary operational base. The airport also serves as a secondary hub for bmibaby, Flybe, Jet2.com, Monarch Airlines and Virgin Atlantic. Several other British airlines have a strong presence.

Manchester Airport offers flights to over 190 destinations across the globe and 65 tour operators utilise the facility. Many of Manchester's overseas routes are served by charter flights to holiday destinations, some being seasonal. The proportion of scheduled passengers from Manchester has climbed from just 40% in the early 1990s to reach 63% during 2007.

The airport viewed from the south

Manchester also offers more destinations than some of the biggest airports in the US, including New York, Chicago and Dallas, although it is still slightly behind the three biggest 'hubs' in the global aviation network - Atlanta, Frankfurt am Main and Amsterdam - which each offer more than 250 destinations. However, Manchester serves more foreign destinations than Atlanta and Frankfurt (but not Amsterdam), although being much smaller in terms of total passengers handled.

Terminal 1

Terminal 1 handles international traffic and is served by Star Alliance members, scheduled airlines and charter operators. It is also the base for Jet2.com, Monarch Airlines and Thomas Cook Airlines. The terminal has 24 stands, 14 of which have airbridges. Opened in 1962 by the Duke of Edinburgh with an annual capacity of 2.5 million passengers, the terminal has undergone extensions and renovations since. Terminal 1's current capacity is around 11 million passengers a year.

In summer 2009, a £50 million redevelopment program for Terminal 1 was completed. As part of the overhaul, which took over 2 years, a new £14 million 14-lane security area opened during April 2008. The terminal's arrivals area has since been revamped with additional catering and retail facilities. Terminal 1's departure lounge has been significantly expanded with a greater choice of shops and restaurants, following the virtual elimination of the landside area, and additional executive lounges have been added. The emphasis on retail development means that there is now a lengthy, winding, walk from the security area to the airside waiting area, partly because the new layout forces passengers to pass through an extensive "duty free" shop on the way to the departure gates. It is also planned that a new boarding area and range of gates are to be added to the terminal in preparation for Airbus A380 flights which are expected to begin operating from Manchester in 2010/11.

Airlines	Destinations
Aer Arann	Galway, Waterford
Aer Lingus	Cork, Dublin
Air Berlin	Paderborn/Lippstadt
AMC Airlines	Sharm el-Sheikh
Aurigny Air Services	Guernsey
BH Air	Burgas, Plovdiv, Varna
City Airline	Gothenburg-Landvetter
Cyprus Airways	Larnaca, Paphos
Cyprus Turkish Airlines	Antalya, Dalaman, Ercan, İzmir
Emirates	Dubai
Etihad Airways	Abu Dhabi
Eurocypria Airlines	Heraklion, Larnaca, Paphos
Finnair	Helsinki
Germanwings	Cologne/Bonn [begins 25 October]
Icelandair	Keflavík
Jet2.com	Alicante [seasonal], Arrecife, Budapest, Chambéry [seasonal], Dalaman [seasonal], Faro [seasonal], Geneva [seasonal], Heraklion [seasonal], Ibiza [seasonal], Kos [begins 26 May; seasonal], Las Palmas de Gran Canaria [begins 1 May], Málaga [seasonal], Monastir [begins 29 May; seasonal], Murcia [seasonal], Nice [seasonal], Palma [seasonal], Pisa [seasonal], Olbia [seasonal], Rhodes [seasonal], Rome-Fiumicino, Sharm el-Sheikh, Tenerife-South, Tel Aviv, Venice-Marco Polo [begins 22 March]
Libyan Airlines	Tripoli
Lufthansa	Frankfurt, Munich
Lufthansa Regional operated by Eurowings	Düsseldorf
Lufthansa Regional operated by Lufthansa CityLine	Hamburg, Munich
Monarch Airlines	Alicante, Almería, Antalya, Arrecife, Banjul, Barcelona, Bodrum, Burgas, Calgary, Cancún, Catania, Chania, Corfu, Dalaman, Dubrovnik, Faro, Fuerteventura, Funchal, Gibraltar, Goa, Heraklion, Ibiza, Kittilä, Kos, Larnaca, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Luxor, Málaga, Male, Minorca, Mombasa, Monastir, Murcia, Naples, Orlando-Sanford, Palma, Paphos, Preveza, Puerto Plata, Pula, Rhodes, Sharm el-Sheikh, Tenerife-South, Venice-Marco Polo, Volos, Zakynthos
Olympic Airlines	Athens [ends 28 September]
Ryanair	Bremen, Brussels-Charleroi, Cagliari, Dublin, Frankfurt-Hahn, Girona, Marseille, Milan-Bergamo, Shannon, Weeze [all services end 30 September except Dublin]
SATA International	Ponta Delgada
Scandinavian Airlines System	Copenhagen, Oslo-Gardermoen, Stockholm-Arlanda
Swiss International Air Lines	Zürich
Swiss International Air Lines operated by Helvetic Airways	Zürich
Swiss operated by Swiss European Air Lines	Basel/Mulhouse, Geneva [seasonal]
Thomas Cook Airlines	Agadir [seasonal], Alicante, Almería [seasonal], Antalya, Arrecife, Barbados [seasonal], Banjul [seasonal], Bodrum [seasonal], Burgas [seasonal], Calgary, Cancún, Cayo Coco, Corfu [seasonal], Dalaman, Faro, Funchal, Fuerteventura, Girona [seasonal], Heraklion [seasonal], Holguin, Hurghada, Ibiza [seasonal], Izmir [seasonal], Kalamata [seasonal], Kefalonia [seasonal], Kos [seasonal], Larnaca [seasonal], Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las Vegas [seasonal], Luxor, Málaga, Malta, Marsa Alam [seasonal], Minorca [seasonal], Monastir, Montego Bay, Naples [seasonal], Orlando-Sanford [seasonal], Palma [seasonal], Paphos, Preveza [seasonal], Puerto Plata, Punta Cana, Reus [seasonal], Rhodes [seasonal], Rimini [seasonal], Santa Clara [seasonal], Santorini [seasonal], Sharm el-Sheikh, Skiathos [seasonal], Sofia [begins 19 December; seasonal], Split [seasonal], Tenerife-South, Thessaloniki [seasonal], Toronto-Pearson, Turin [begins 20 December; seasonal], Vancouver, Varadero, Zakynthos [seasonal]
TUIfly	Stuttgart [ends 30 October]
Turkish Airlines	Istanbul-Atatürk

Terminal 2

Terminal 2 (Emirates has since moved to Terminal 1)

Terminal 2 is mostly used by SkyTeam airline members and long haul and charter airlines flying to international destinations only. It opened in 1993, handling scheduled European and Intercontinental flights. Some European scheduled airlines such as Air France, Air Malta and KLM operate flights from the terminal, whilst charter airline Thomson Airways uses the terminal as a base.

Terminal 2 has 16 gates, of which 15 have airbridges. The design of the terminal makes it capable of extensive expansion; planning permission already exists 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. This has resulted in the elimination of the landside shopping area to allow for an expanded airside departure lounge. The ground level arrivals area has also been redeveloped with improved catering and retail facilities. Terminal 2's new upper-level security area opened during July 2008; the entire terminal redevelopment is scheduled for completion by autumn 2009.

Terminal 2 is expected to accommodate the Airbus A380. In the expansion plan, a dedicated new gate area facility and lounge is to be added to the terminal and most of the new gates and stands will be designed to accommodate the A380, should commercial flights begin at the airport.

Airlines	Destinations
Airblue	Islamabad
Air France	Paris-Charles de Gaulle
Air Malta	Malta
Astraeus	Agadir, Alexandria, Banjul-Yundum, Calvi, Chambéry, Kefalonia, Lourdes-Tarbes, Olbia, Paphos, Reus, Sal, Salzburg, Taba, Tenerife-South
Belavia	Minsk
Continental Airlines	Newark
Czech Airlines	Prague, Cancún [seasonal], Varadero [seasonal]
Delta Air Lines	Atlanta, New York-JFK
Flyglobespan	Calgary [seasonal], Vancouver [seasonal]
Free Bird Airlines	Antalya, Dalaman [seasonal]
KLM	Amsterdam
KLM operated by KLM Cityhopper	Amsterdam
Onur Air	Antalya, Bodrum, Dalaman, Nicosia - Ercan
Pakistan International Airlines	Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore[1]
Qatar Airways	Doha
Saudi Arabian Airlines	Geneva, Jeddah, Riyadh
Singapore Airlines	Singapore
Thomson Airways	Agadir, Alicante, Almería, Antalya, Antigua, Arrecife, Aruba, Banjul-Yundum, Barbados, Boa Vista, Bodrum, Burgas, Cancún, Cayo Cayo, Chania, Colombo, Corfu, Dalaman, Dubrovnik, Fort Lauderdale, Faro, Figari, Fuerteventura, Funchal, Geneva, Girona, Goa, Grenoble, Heraklion, Holguin, Hurghada, Ibiza, Innsbruck, Istanbul, Izmir, Kavala, Kefalonia, Kittila, Kos, Larnaca, La Romana, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Luxor, Lyon, Málaga, Male, Malta, Marrakech, Miami, Minorca, Mitilini-Lesbos, Monastir, Montego Bay, Naples, Nassau, New Orleans, Orlando-Sanford, Ovda, Palma, Paphos, Pisa, Porlamor, Preveza, Puerto Plata, Puerto Vallarta, Pula, Punta Cana, Reus, Rhodes, Rovaniemi, St Lucia, Sal, Salvador de Bahia, Salzburg, Samos, Santorini, Sharm el-Sheikh, Skiathos, Sofia, Taba, Tel Aviv, Tenerife-South, Thessaloniki, Turin, Varadero, Varna, Venice-Marco Polo, Verona, Zakynthos
US Airways	Philadelphia
Viking Airlines	Bodrum, Chania, Corfu, Fuerteventura, Heraklion, Kalamata, Kos, Lanzarote, Las Palmas, Mykonos, Paphos, Rhodes, Sharm el-Sheikh, Skiathos, Tenerife Sur, Zakinthos
Virgin Atlantic	Barbados, Orlando

Note:^ Although PIA's flights from Pakistan continue onto New York-JFK from Manchester, passengers cannot board flights from Manchester to go to New York-JFK and vice versa. Passengers must originate from Pakistan and fly to New York-JFK and vice versa. Therefore, New York-JFK is not listed as a destination from Manchester.

Terminal 3

American Airlines aircraft at Terminal 3

Terminal 3 was known in succession as "Terminal 1 - British Airways", "Terminal 1A" and "Terminal 3 - British Airways and Domestic". It was opened by Diana, Princess of Wales in May 1989. In June 1998, British Airways opened their new £75 million terminal facility, a major extension to Terminal 3, and were the primary user of the terminal along with their partner airlines. However, more recently they have scaled down operations from Manchester Airport with the sale of their BA Connect subsidiary to Flybe; the ending of their franchise agreement with GB Airways and the retraction of their daily New York-JFK service in October 2008, after 54 years of operation. This leaves a severely truncated BA operation serving only London Heathrow and London Gatwick from Manchester.

After taking over BA Connect's select routes, Flybe has gone on to add several more destinations. Today, Flybe, Bmibaby, BMI and EasyJet are the major operators at Terminal 3. Other carriers operating from the terminal include Air Southwest, American Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Adria Airways.

Airlines	Destinations
Air Southwest	Bristol, Plymouth
Adria Airways	Ljubljana
American Airlines	Chicago-O'Hare
BMI	scheduled: London-Heathrow, Lyon, Toulouse [seasonal] scheduled charter: Bucharest-Henri Coandă [begins 19 December], Dalaman, Heraklion, Kefalonia, Lanzarote, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Paphos, Pula, Sharm el-Sheikh, Tenerife-South [all seasonal]
BMI Regional	Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow-International
Bmibaby	Alicante, Amsterdam, Barcelona [seasonal], Belfast-International, Bordeaux [seasonal], Cork, Geneva [seasonal], Grenoble [begins 19 December; seasonal], Jersey, Knock, Lisbon [seasonal], Lourdes [seasonal; begins 30 April], Málaga, Newquay [seasonal], Toulouse, Palma, Perpignan [seasonal]
British Airways	London-Gatwick, London-Heathrow
British Airways operated by Sun Air of Scandinavia	Billund
Brussels Airlines	Brussels
EasyJet	Alicante, Athens, Bastia, Copenhagen [begins 6 November], Corfu, Dalaman, Geneva, Heraklion, Málaga, Malta, Marrakech [begins 29 October], Munich [begins 6 November], Paphos, Sofia, Tenerife-South
Flybe	Belfast-City, Bergerac, Brest [seasonal], Brussels, Düsseldorf, Edinburgh, Exeter, Frankfurt, Geneva, Glasgow-International, Guernsey [seasonal], Hanover, Inverness, Isle of Man, Jersey, Lyon, Milan-Malpensa, Norwich, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Rennes [seasonal], Southampton
VLM Airlines	Antwerp, Rotterdam

World Freight Terminal

Antonov An-225 at Manchester Airport in 2006

Manchester Airport has a World Freight Terminal, served by 10 cargo-only freighter services and by civil airlines carrying cargo on passenger flights. There is 550,000 square feet (51,000 m²) of warehouse and office space on site, this includes a chiller unit for frozen products and a border inspection post. There are three aircraft maintenance hangers, with five transit sheds. These are operated by: British Airways Regional Cargo, Swissport Cargo , Menzies World Cargo, Plane Handling and Servisair. There are over 100 freight forwarding companies on site.

During 2006, 150,300 tonnes of cargo and mail were handled at Manchester, a small increase of 0.4% over the previous year (per CAA annual statistics table 2.2). Cargo growth sharply increased towards the third and fourth quarters of 2007, with October of that year setting a new record of tonnage passing through Manchester, with 16,326 tonnes being handled in the month. The twelve-month annual total to end December 2007 of 166,500 tonnes was 10.4% ahead of the previous year.

The 12 month rolling cargo total to March 2009 was 127,300 tonnes, a 25.0% reduction on the previous comparable 12 months, reflecting withdrawal from Manchester of MNG and Aeroflot and direct Fedex services to the USA, together with lower tonnages carried by other airlines. Fedex currently (June 2009) operate only feeder flights in a European network.

Manchester's two biggest cargo markets are the Far East and North America. The Far East is predominantly a source of import cargo for the airport and North America is a key destination for exports. The main cargo destination from Manchester is Hong Kong, with Cathay Pacific making a total of 12 freighter round trips every week. On average each day the airport handles about six Boeing 747 freighter flights.

By 2015 the total figure for cargo handled was expected to be around 250,000 tonnes per year, approximately double today's actual level.

Cargo airlines

Airlines	Destinations
Air China Cargo	Shanghai-Pudong
Air Contractors	Glasgow-International, London-Stansted, Paris-Charles de Gaulle
Cathay Pacific Cargo (Operated by Cathay Pacific Cargo and Dragonair Cargo)	Amsterdam, Brussels, Dubai, Hong Kong, Milan-Malpensa
China Airlines Cargo	Taipei-Taiwan Taoyuan
FedEx Express	Birmingham, Newark, Memphis, Frankfurt, Indianapolis, Oakland (reported to start in September 2009)
Great Wall Airlines	Amsterdam, Shanghai-Pudong

Maintenance bases

Manchester Airport is the home to the engineering bases of Thomas Cook Airlines and Monarch Airlines. As well as their own aircraft, the airport regularly sees foreign visitors and special movements visting for engineering work.

Runways

Manchester Airport has two parallel runways, both 10,000 ft (3,048 m) in length. The original main runway, then designated 06/24 and initially 3,300 ft (1,006 m) in length, dates back to 1941 when the airport was used as an RAF base and a military aircraft assembly centre. It was extended in stages from 1952, reaching its current length in 1981 to attract long-haul international traffic. As demand and aircraft movements both increased during the mid-1990s, mainly due to the newly completed Terminal 2, the airport studied the option of a second full-length runway. A consultation process began and planning permission was approved in 1997, with construction work starting the same year.

The second runway, 05R/23L, opened in February 2001 at a cost of £172 million, and was the first full-length commercial runway to open in Britain for over 20 years. Manchester is the only UK airport, other than Heathrow, to have two commercial runways in operation. The site where the second runway was constructed was on the southern airfield boundary, which is near the village of Styal in the Cheshire countryside.

The project was deemed controversial because of the destruction of natural wildlife habitats and because of the added flight paths which lead to and from the second runway. This results in aircraft flying low over the residential areas of Knutsford and Stockport when landing or taking off, in particular landing aircraft which do not follow 'Preferred Noise Routes'. For the latter reason, Runway 2 cannot legally be used between the hours of 10pm and 6am. However, the airport has permission to use Runway 2 between these hours if maintenance work is needed on the original runway.

During the quieter off-peak times which occur during the day, the airport reverts to single runway operations, where the original runway, 05L/23R, is used to accommodate both landing aircraft and those taking off. On some occasions when the airport is not busy, air traffic control can authorise light to medium aircraft to takeoff from the halfway point of the runway. Runway 2 is non-active during this time (12pm-3pm and 9pm-6am) with fewer local residential areas being affected by the operation of only one runway.

Ground transport

TransPennine Express Class 185 arriving at Manchester Airport Railway Station

Rail

Manchester Airport railway station, opened in May 1993, forms part of The Station and is located between Terminals 1 and 2. It is linked to the terminals using a Skylink moving walkway. Trains are operated either by Northern Rail or TransPennine Express ([2]) and connect the airport to Manchester Piccadilly Station and other railway stations mainly throughout northern England, but some trains come from as far as Edinburgh. A third rail platform was completed in December 2008 to allow for an increase in rail capacity and also to meet increasing passenger numbers using the facility. There has also been a proposal to link the Manchester to Manchester Airport line to the Chester to Stockport line which would allow faster trains between the airport and parts of Cheshire, Merseyside and North Wales. Since that proposal was put forward, little has materialised. However, the rail link could still be built and was mentioned as a possible future development in the long term by Network Rail in March 2009.

The Station is the airport's ground transport interchange and brings bus, coach and rail passengers under one roof. Over 300 trains, 100 coaches and 500 buses a day use the facility. Buses serve many locations throughout Greater Manchester, including the 24-hour bus service Skyline (service 43) , which runs every 30 minutes to Manchester city centre via Wythenshawe, Northenden, Withington, Fallowfield and Rusholme. There is also Skyline (service 19) operating every hour to Altrincham via Wythenshawe and Sale. A network of National Express coach services serve Manchester Airport and operate to destinations further afield, including as far as Dublin.

Road

The airport is a 20 minute drive from Manchester city centre and is reached by the M56 motorway, with a dedicated approach road from the motorway at junction 5. The M56 is the main route used by traffic to reach the airport. There are also minor local roads serving the airport from the north (Wythenshawe) and the east (Heald Green). The M56/A538 road junction serves the World Freight Terminal, to the west of the airport. The A538 runs east-west serving the local towns of Altrincham and Wilmslow.

Taxi ranks are situated by arrivals at all three terminals. Passengers driving to the airport can use the drop-off areas outside the terminal buildings, but when picking up passengers the airport requires that they park in the short stay car parks provided for a fee. Long stay car parks are situated both on and off site.

Parking

The airport's official short-stay car parking can be found in the multi-storey car parks adjacent to Terminals 1, 2 and 3. In July 2007 the airport introduced a ‘No Waiting’ restriction on all access roads surrounding the terminals. This was a direct result of the 2007 Glasgow International Airport attack and so all pick-ups must now take place by using the short-stay car parks.

Official long-stay on-airport parking from Manchester Airport is located near the terminals and serviced by a regular courtesy bus. There is one long-stay car park serving Terminals 1 and 3, and a separate dedicated long-stay car park for Terminal 2. In 2009 the airport opened JetParks; a long-stay car park less than a mile from the terminals. This is a cheaper alternative to the on-site car parks and is serviced by a 24-hour shuttle bus every 15 minutes. The airport also operates a Shuttle Park for long-stay car parking, which is also served by a regular courtesy bus, and is located just off the airport site to the east of Terminal 3.

Tram

The Metrolink light rail system, has had plans to extend to the airport for many years. When the now failed idea of a congestion charge was brought in, part of the scheme was to extend the Metrolink to the airport. However, when this was rejected the future of the scheme was in doubt. However, in May 2009, with the funds in place via raised council tax, the line to the airport will finally be built, starting in late 2009. The airport line will be one spur of the line from St. Werburgh's Road, to East Didsbury and Manchester Airport. The line will open approx. 2012.

Future airport expansion

As part of the Government's 'The Future of Air Transport' White Paper', Manchester Airport published its master plan on its proposed expansion up until 2030. Demolition of older buildings, such as old storage buildings, the old Alpha Catering Building and Males Garage, to the east of Terminal 3 has already begun. This is to make way for a new apron and taxiway towards runway 23R/05L, and an eastwards extension of Terminal 3, which is planned to provide an extra fifteen covered stands. A full length parallel taxiway may also be added to the second runway and more crossing points added across the first runway to improve ground movements of aircraft.

Passenger flow on Terminal 1's gating piers is due to be realigned, with plans to redesign the piers such that departures and arrivals do not contraflow on the same level, allowing for larger seating areas at the gates, express retail outlets and a dedicated lounge and gating area for future Airbus A380 flights. An early phase of which has seen the removal of the South Bay remote aircraft stands, constructed in 1962, and situated between taxiways Juliet and Kilo and as a consequence the more recent re-alignment of taxiway Juliet into an extended taxiway Bravo.

Terminal 2 is due to receive a major extension, to encompass current remote stands to the west. A satellite terminal is also projected for Terminal 2. Between twelve and fifteen covered aircraft stands will be made available by this. An airside 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. There is uncertainty as to whether this link should provide extra stands for the two terminals, or exist as a transfer corridor.

All terminals have just undergone a retail and airport security refurbishment programme, completed in summer 2009. The security control areas have new X-ray machines and passenger authenticity control systems, which will ensure a higher and faster passenger throughput, whilst improving the already elevated levels of security at the airport. The new security control areas are now in operation in all terminals. Terminal 2's security zone is now located on a newly constructed upper level, whilst Terminal 1's security zone has been moved closer to the check-in zones. As a result, the retail concourse before security has been removed in both terminals. The new security zones allow a significant increase in passenger numbers in both terminals.

Terminal 3 acquired an extra security control area in November 2007, located near check-in zone C. This was initially dedicated to passengers travelling to CTA destinations. In January 2008, the usage was extended to all Terminal 3 passengers, with the exception of those destined for Frankfurt, Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport and Brussels. This new security control area is now used for all departures out of Terminal 3; the old security area has now closed and is being de-commissioned.

The fire station on the north of the airfield is becoming outdated and expensive to maintain and is also in the way of future apron and taxiway developments, so it is also stated that this may be demolished and a new facility built close to the original fire station site.

The taxiways are undergoing a renewal programme. The 'South Bay' stands at the end of B Pier have closed to make way for a realigning of part of taxiway Juliet to allow the accommodation of the Airbus A380. The work also fits in with the airfield's future taxiway strategy.

On 27 April 2008, it was announced that the Manchester Airports Group, which owns Manchester Airport together with the regional airports at East Midlands and Bournemouth, plans to sell its majority stake of 87% in the smaller Humberside Airport, which it has run since 1999. The money raised from the sale will go into developments and expansion at its other airports, a large proportion of which will most probably be used to fund the above expansion of Manchester.

On 17 September 2008, it was announced that BAA were to sell London Gatwick Airport ahead of the Competition Commission possibly forcing the sale following their main report due in 2009. The airport is estimated to be worth around £1.8billion. Manchester Airports Group are believed to be one of the interested parties. Should such a bid be tabled and accepted, it would create a business which would rival the current BAA domination of the United Kingdom's airport infrastructure.

Criticism

Between 1997 and 1999 three protest camps were set up to oppose the building of the second runway, the felling of nearby trees on land owned by the National Trust in Styal, Cheshire and air transportation in general. Camps were set up Flywood, Arthur's Wood and Cedar's Wood. Swampy, a well known activist, was among many protesters.

Manchester Airport's second runway was built on 100 acres (0.4 km²) of greenbelt land. Four Grade II listed buildings were taken down and were re-constructed nearby, and over £20m was spent on environmental restoration and protection. Nonetheless, there is criticism that natural habitats were destroyed.

The south west end of the new runway is closer to the town of Knutsford and to the village of Mobberley. There has been an increase in noise experienced by local residents from the aircraft being lower and closer and home owners have not been compensated by the airport.

In 2007 Manchester Airport wanted to build on further green belt land in Styal in order to increase its car parking. However, the former Macclesfield Borough Council refused to give them planning permission to do so and expressed annoyance at the airport for not investing enough in public transport. Macclesfield Borough Council have said that they would consider giving planning permission for a new car park on brownfield land. The airport did not make another application, despite claims that the number of parking spaces was insufficient for the number of passengers.

Incidents and accidents

• On 27 March 1951 a Douglas C-47A-75-DL Dakota 3 cargo aircraft operated by Air Transport Charter and en route to Nutts Corner Airport, Antrim, Northern Ireland, crashed shortly after take-off following the aircrafts failure to gain height. There were four fatalities, two of the three crew on board and two of the three passengers. The subsequent investigation found that the crash resulted from a loss of engine power caused by ice formation in the carburetor intakes attributable to the captain's failure to make use of the heat controls. An extended undercarriage and the presence of snow on the wings may have also been contributory factors.

• On 14 March 1957, British European Airways Flight "Bealine 411" operated by Vickers Viscount 701 G-ALWE inbound from Amsterdam crashed into houses in Shadow Moss Road, Woodhouse Park on final approach to Runway 24 at Manchester Airport due to a flap failure caused by fatigue of a wing bolt. All 20 occupants on board died and two on the ground.

• On 4 June 1967 – Stockport Air Disaster – British Midland Airways Canadair C-4 Argonaut G-ALHG, inbound from Palma, crashed near the centre of Stockport after loss of engine power due to fuel problems and an aborted approach to Manchester Airport, with 72 fatalities.

• On 22 August 1985 – British Airtours Flight 28M - an engine failed during take-off from Runway 24, the fire spreading into the cabin, resulting in 55 fatalities aboard the Boeing 737-236 Advanced G-BGJL. The uncontained engine failure was later traced to an incorrectly repaired combustor causing the turbine disc to shatter and puncture the wing fuel tanks.[3]

• 16 July 2003 – Excel Airways Boeing 737-800 (G-XLAG) with 190 passengers and seven crew took off from Manchester Airport while vehicles were working near the end of the runway. Despite the crew being told the runway was operating at reduced length, they took off from a runway intersection with reduced length using a reduced thrust setting calculated for the assumed normal runway length. The aircraft lifted off over the vehicles, missing them by 56 ft (17 m), according to the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch report. Six safety recommendations were made.

Concorde, now in her hangar at the Aviation Viewing Park.

• On 29 April 2007 - a Thompsonair boeing 757 took off from Manchester Airport with 223 passengers and 8 crew on board sucked in two herons. the plane was inbount to lanzarotte. The pilot sent out a mayday and shut the right engine down. He then had to circle the airport to burn off fuel for 45 minutes and then made an emergency landing. No-one was hurt. The passengers were put onto another flight.

Public attractions

Manchester Airport has created public viewing areas since the airport opened to the public in 1938. The 1960/1970s pier-top facilities have been closed because of security concerns. In May 1992, an official "Aviation Viewing Park" (AVP) was created just off the A538 road on the south-western side of the airfield. This was relocated to the western side of the airfield in May 1997 to allow construction of the second runway. The Aviation Viewing Park is regarded as providing the best official viewing facilities for aircraft spotting at any major UK airport. Visitors can view aircraft taking off and landing from both runways, as well as aircraft taxiing to and from the runways. The attraction now draws around 250,000 visitors a year and is one of the North-West of England's top 10 attractions. The viewing park also has a cafe and a shop selling aviation related items. Aircraft on display are:

ex-British European Airways Hawker Siddeley Trident 3B preserved at the Aviation Viewing Park. Delivered new in 1971, G-AWZK flew for BEA and British Airways, retiring in 1985.

• G-BOAC, a retired British Airways Concorde, once the flagship of the airline's seven-strong Concorde fleet. The project to build a hangar for the jet was delayed due to the discovery of protected Great Crested Newts on the site, which the airport is under obligation to rehouse at their own expense. This is despite Great Crested Newts being discovered commonly across the area. The aircraft was moved into the hangar on 13 January 2009.

• The last airliner to be built in the UK, BAE Systems Avro RJX G-IRJX.

• The forward fuselage of Monarch Airlines Douglas DC-10 G-DMCA.

• One of only two preserved Hawker Siddeley Trident 3B aircraft, G-AWZK in full BEA livery.

Level 13 of the short-stay car park at Terminal 1 features another viewing location, popular with spotters for the last 32 years. As part of a recent refurbishment, the café and aviation shop which were once part of the viewing area have now been closed, with the aviation shop moving to the Terminal 1 arrivals area.

Bibliography

• First and Foremost. Scholefield, R.A. Manchester Airport Authority, 1978.
• Manchester Airport. Scholefield, R.A. Sutton Publishing, Stroud, 1998. ISBN 0-7509-1954-X.

External links

• Official website
• Manchester Airport Consultative Committee
• Manchester Airports Group (MAG) website
• Manchester Airport Parking Site
• First TransPennine Express - Direct Trains into the centre of Manchester Airport