Construction starts on new boarding gates at Manchester Airport

This final phase should concrete Manchester’s international airport status bringing in new airlines and destinations.
It’s crazy to think going back only 6 years, we was stuck with the old terminal but now, it’s a master piece which is nearly complete.
Fair enough, security and border force waiting times were long last year, but they were external from the airport but from my last couple of flights, I have waited 10 minutes maximum. Hopefully after this, they combine terminal 1&3 to create 2 super terminals

Even for an airport it is an unpleasant and costly place to be. Either improve the customer experience and increase the routes or resign and get someone else to do it.

Masterpiece “seriously”

I think Tannoy, building an airport takes a long time and a lot of money. I’ve been recently…it’s getting better.

Increasing capacity.,…… Manchester Airport is a shambles. Arrived back Monday morning at terminal 3 bussed to terminal 1 luggage left at T3 took two hours to eventually get baggage. Nobody around to get information. Then had to find taxi which was waiting at T3. This is not a good advertisement for Manchester.

Hope access for wheelchair has been planned. As T1 is a laught for them, lack of man power and equipment. We use T1 up to 6 times a year.

Nothing about decommissioning T1 and demolishing it as planned ?

Most gates are to far from check in and on return form the gate to picken your case up it’s to far a walk for older people to me liverpool is easier

Trying to polish a turd

Try to avoid flying from Manchester due to road and rail problems getting there

Terrible airport, an embarrassment to the UK

Manchester as a city, is now experiencing the ‘London effect’ The British trait of knocking successful places. How long before the rest are referring to it as, ‘That Manchester.’ The airport isn’t perfect but it is the only airport of any relevance outside the South East. People need to realise that Manchester is the North’s economic engine, and join in the party.

With Elephant on this, don’t knock it. Need to whisper it quietly, but climate change is going to give NIMBYs a lot sticks to beat down airport expansion, and Manchester has managed to get its major expansion investments done, and that puts it in a really strong position nationally and regionally. Once most of the traffic is migrated to the new T2 it will be a much better customer experience, but not sure Airport City is going anywhere.

Gilly/Dan, I know you generally only do negativity in the comments however this is clearly not a terrible airport unless you just don’t like airports full stop, it’s a huge asset to the North west providing thousands of jobs and allowing many millions of people to travel to all corners of the earth instead of having to travel to London. It’s undergoing huge change and sustained investment to allow it to do even more and better. See? Different way of looking at it.

Some of you clearly haven’t used the airport of late

Literally at the airport last week. It was the fastest/easiest I’ve ever dealt with and the retail offering easily surpasses offerings at other nearby airports.

I understand there has been issues, mainly due to covid etc. but this was a norm at all major airports.

Nobody makes you fly from Manchester. And if you don’t have a choice, it makes you wonder why Manchester is the only one that can offer that flight.

Gilly, I used the airport three times last year and didn’t have any issues but maybe I was lucky.

Oh but we’ve used the airport many times, it’s just that some of us realise that there is more to a significant story item than any 2 line strop can possibly answer. The Airport has, as has been pointed out undergone significant changes right through Covid and will continue to undergo them for some time yet. It’s doubtful however that some people would change their perspective if they were carried through security, rubbed in baby oil and promised the flight was free. Glass half empty, Glass knocked over. Either way is a perspective but ultimately a miserable way to look at life.

The waiting and gate areas in Manchester Airport are poor.
The waiting are, where the shops/restaurants are located, is very underwhelming and lack some decent restaurants and high end shops. You only have to look at Schipol Airport in Amsterdam, or Copenhagen Airport,(the matter of which is amazing) to see that they are streets ahead.
The gate waiting areas don’t have sufficient numbers of seating, so you either stand up or sit on the floor. The aforementioned airports have plenty of space, seats, great IT comms (wifi, charging points, etc), and it’s an enjoyable experience to spend time there whilst waiting for yoru flight.
I dread having to fly from Manchester, and try and avoid it if I can.

Having used T2 twice I’d say it’s easy to get around, lots of seating, which is unusual for Manchester, but my oh my, aspects such as the toilets and the piers are done on the cheap. Lino, cheap wall coverings, bare metal roofs. It’s nothing like a modern European hub like Amsterdam or Munich. But the check in area is great, and my experience of security during a busy period was excellent. Goodbye T1, you served us well, but the world has moved on. (I believe it’s getting mothballed)

Great that people are talking about the airport now in terms of Schipol etc. when it’s finished finally it really should be the heart of the greatest economic power house outside London. That’s something we should all be proud of.

As a regular flyer – generally at least once a month, and mostly using T1 at MAN – this is an improvement, and LONG LONG overdue. However, the execution is still lacking in some areas especially the overall finish of the building and the new pier design. Not a patch on somewhere like Copenhagen or Stockholm who use a variety of materials to make the space feel better and more relaxing. There is a lot of exposed metal in MAN, so it is very much an industrial building.

Also, in 2023 it is disappointing to see gate access that still requires steps – why not design these airbridges to be step free and make boarding aircraft accessible for all?

It IS a vast improvement on what it was.

I am still interested in what will happen with T1 and T3 – I assume that Ryanair will have a say in the fate of T3, as they like the easy airfield access that speeds around turnaround times.
T2 is a long taxi away from the runway area… (could be Schiphol though! haha)

Lots of people here seem to be comparing Manchester airport with state owned and built European capital city airports. Of course it cant compete with those, this is the UK.

Loganberry is dead right. The exemplary European airports mentioned are owned by the people for people as a public service. Manchester airport and similar UK facilities have been privatized and now operate to make maximum profit for the shareholders (even if some are town councils). That is their purpose and not making travellers feel happy.

@James Yates

Manchester Airport has not been privatised – its been run since the turn of the millennium by Manchester Airports Holding Company, comprising the ten GM councils plus an Australian fund, the councils having a clear controlling stake in this.

As most people know Manchester Airport is owned by the 10 Greater Manchester boroughs

Flew from MAN on Friday and it was a complete disaster, shocking place

Couldn’t make up some of the first world comments on here. It’s a big airport , they are spending a fortune on it with much of it being built over many years whilst trying to keep the rest of it open and running including through covid. People wittering on about it like that’s their destination rather than the place they go from. If it doesn’t have the colour seats you like or the check in takes a bit longer than it once took you in Charles de Gaulle here’s an idea, don’t fly at all save some of those precious green house gases. Or travel to London , they tell me Stansted is beautiful at this time of year. Oh hang on remind me who owns Stansted again?

Strange Frank, I also flew from MAN on Friday, easiest flight I’ve had in ages. Great place. I suppose the difference is recency bias affects people in different ways, or put another way, you are not the centre of the universe at all times.

was it not meant to have 3 piers on terminal 2 as was first shown on a plan on u tube a few years ago it is wide enough to take 3 piers

I fly in and out of Manchester a lot. I like what they have done. Security is better, but they should have invested in new generation scanners that mean you can leave your laptop in your bag. But the staff are super and nice, hard as some passengers to pack toasters and don’t listen. ;-). They need to improve screen information on your way to the A gates… these gates are a long way away and if there is a change it is useful to know. The train station is too far from T2.. it is really off putting.. the connectivity of the customer journey breaks down too many times. I also think the airport needs to promote itself more.. it just had a significant anniversary .. and KLM was its first customer. More better lounges… the Escape gets too full.

You can definitely see T2 has a pathway to being a much better experience, and it’s a pretty seamless experience if you park in that T2 parking mega-structure, but to Stephen’s comments the rail/tram connection is looking very tired, it’s a hike to T2 from there. Overall though the years of thoughtful investment are starting to pay-off, and Manchester will have things that other airports just aren’t going to be allowed to have because interest groups are going to push back hard. Just a passing mention for Liverpool, which being in West Cheshire based I have a soft spot for, as a more convenient way to get to some short haul destinations. It’s downright shabby, and Peel should be embarrassed.

As a frequent flyer and long time user of MAN, what a shambles it has become. Do senior management dismiss the avalanche of concerns about MAN with it will be OK when T2 ‘handles 80%’ of passengers in 2025 as an answer? If so, they completely misunderstand the operational management issues this airport has. Old infrastructure does not excuse poor management of security, baggage handling etc. MAN let’s down the NW. Few passengers pass through MAN with anything other than a poor experience. Change of management is long overdue.