Manchester Airport records its busiest summer

Almost 7m people flew through Manchester Airport over the school summer holidays – making it the Northern hub’s busiest summer yet.

The airport also saw its busiest single month ever, with 3.5m people flying in or out of the UK’s global gateway in the North during August.

New data also shows that according to surveys of more than 3,000 passengers between January-June, 91% rated their experience of the airport as good, very good or excellent.

Some of that success was driven by good performance in security,  with 95% of passengers waiting for 10 minutes or less to get to security in August and almost 80% waiting for less than five minutes.

Manchester Airport Managing Director Chris Woodroofe said:

“Here at Manchester Airport, we are proud to connect the North to the world – and over the summer it really feels like we’ve done that.

“We’ve seen almost 7m passengers travel through the airport in July and August and we’ve worked hard to deliver a great experience for them. In the first half of the year we know that more than 90% of our passengers rated their time in the airport as good, very good or excellent.

“And having seen the work the teams here have put in over the summer – and the many, many happy faces I see around the airport every day – I feel very confident we’ll see similar figures for this period.

“Now we’re moving into a very exciting time for the airport as we get into the final stages of our transformation programme. Over the next few months we’ll put the finishing touches to our brand new, £1.3bn Terminal 2 and meanwhile we’ve started work on improving and expanding Terminal 3, with the first new parts of that opening early in the new year.

“It means that as we look ahead I think we’ll see our passengers grow even happier with the service they receive here.”

The most popular destinations during August were Antalya, Palma, Dublin, Amsterdam and Dubai – a trend that looks to continue in September as travellers look to take advantage of late summer deals in what’s known as the ‘shoulder season’ – periods either side of the school summer holidays when many popular destinations are still warm but prices are lower.

It means it will be another busy month – but the airport has given some top tips to travellers looking for a straightforward getaway:

• Consider using public transport to get to the airport – Manchester Airport is one of the best connected in the country with a dedicated train, tram and bus station, which is now fully connected to the Bee Network. This time of year more travellers come to the airport by car but you can save money and time by leaving your car at home – while helping ease congestion and look after the environment
• Use our free drop off area – we offer a free drop off area at JetParks1. It is served by a regular shuttle bus that runs every few minutes and will have you at your terminal in around six minutes.
• Alternatively you can be dropped off outside our terminals for a small charge – just remember to pay online or over the phone by midnight the following day
• If you’re driving book parking in advance – and make sure you know where you need to go when you arrive at the airport. All the car parks are clearly signed but it always helps to plan ahead
• Check-in online before you travel
• Travel light – if you aren’t travelling with children it can be easier to go away with just cabin baggage. This means no queueing at check-in so you can go straight to security – where the vast majority of people wait for under five minutes
• Take advantage of night before bag drop services – many airlines offer the option for people to come to the airport the night before they fly, park for free and drop their bags off at check-in when there aren’t any queues. Check online to see if your airline offers this service
• Consider Fast Track and TimeSlot services  – find out more here. Fast Track is available at both security and immigration in all three terminals and helps you beat the queues. TimeSlot is available in Terminals 2 and 3 and lets you book a time to come to security meaning you can avoid waiting
• Take time to enjoy the departure lounges – there’s a wide range of food, drink and shopping options available in all three of Manchester Airport’s terminals, particularly Terminal 2 where new shops and eateries opened earlier in the summer
• Look for quiet areas – all three terminals also have quieter areas with extra seating so when it’s busy there are still places to sit and relax away from the hustle and bustle
• Book a lounge if you want some luxury – all Manchester Airport’s terminals have different lounge options to suit different budgets

Manchester Airport’s 10-year, £1.3bn transformation programme will be completed later this year. The brand new Terminal 2 will become the centre of gravity for the airport, catering for over 70% of passengers with its new security hall, check-in area and shopping options – all of which opened this year.

Further parts of the terminal will be opening over the coming months including the Great Northern Market – a market hall style food area featuring pop-up street food vendors – the airport’s first Wetherspoons pub, new shops and bars including Fever Tree and Chanel and a new pier that will allow more flights to depart from the Terminal.

That means some airlines currently based in Terminals 1 and 3 will move over to Terminal 2, as some have already. If you are due to travel your airline will let you know which terminal you will be flying from.

Manchester Airport recently announced further details of its multi-million pound plans to improve Terminal 3 by expanding it to make use of space that will be available when Terminal 1 closes. Some new parts of Terminal 3 will open early next year, including new sports bar Sporting Chance.