Manchester Airport

For City Airport Manchester, UK, see City Airport Manchester.

For the United States airport, see Manchester-Boston Regional Airport.

Manchester Airport File:Manchester Airport logo.jpg
IATA: MAN ICAO: EGCC
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner/Operator	Manchester Airports Group
Serves	Greater Manchester
Location	Manchester, England
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 3,047 9,997 Concrete/Grooved Asphalt
Source: United Kingdom AIP

Manchester Airport (IATA: MAN, ICAO: EGCC) is a major airport in Manchester, England. It opened to airline traffic in June 1938. It was initially known as Ringway Airport and during World War Two, as RAF Ringway. From 1975 until 1986, the title Manchester International Airport was used. It is located on the boundary between Cheshire and Manchester in the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester.

It has two parallel runways, the second of which opened in 2001 at a cost of £172 million. The airport has three adjacent terminals and a railway station. It is owned by the Manchester Airports Group (MAG) which is controlled by the ten metropolitan borough councils of Greater Manchester and is the largest British-owned airport group.

Manchester Airport has a CAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence (Number P712) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers and for flying instruction.

Manchester Airport is the fourth busiest airport in the United Kingdom (after London Heathrow, London Gatwick and London Stansted). In total passengers handled, Manchester ranked 48th in the world in 2005, down from 45th in 2004. Also, in 2006 Manchester had a recorded 234,835 aircraft movements, of which 213,100 were air transport movements (third highest in the UK) behind Heathrow and just under Gatwick.

History

Pre-war origins

The origins of the airport can be dated back to 1934 when the location was selected as a new site to build an airfield, by 1938 the airport opened and received it's first flight, a KLM operated Douglas DC-2 from Amsterdam. The airport at this time was called Ringway, named after the parish it lies within. For some time KLM was the only operator out of Ringway and offered a request stop at Doncaster.

Second world war

Main article: RAF Ringway

Construction of a Royal Air Force station commenced in 1939 and the airfield was used for both operational flying and training. The main user was No.1 Parachute Training School which trained over 60,000 paratroopers. The civil side of the airfield was used by both Avro and Fairey Aviation for the construction, modification and testing of aircraft.

Post war expansion

After the war the airport grew massively and by 1953 the airport was handling 200,000 passengers annually. In 1972 the airport was renamed to Manchester International Airport and in the 1980s the airport was designated an "international gateway" allowing it to handle direct long-haul flights. This also meant a second terminal was needed to be built to deal with the increase in passenger numbers, and the airport complex was linked nationally by motorway and rail services. Manchester also plans to accept Airbus A380 aircraft in the next few years, as part of the larger expansion at the airport.

Runway changes

On 7 June 2007, 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 (23/4/07). 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 6th June, 2007. The runway designators changed at 0000Z (0100GMT) on the 7th June 2007. The Airport's tower frequency announced the change at that time.

This ended 66 years of 24/06 operations, as the original tarmac runway, initially just 3,000 feet (914 m) long, was hastily and skimpily laid down in the latter half of 1941.

Future Airport Expansion

As part of the Government's White paper into the future of British Airports, Manchester published its Master plan on its future expansion up until 2030. Demolition of older outer buildings to the East of Terminal 3 have already begun (such as old storage depot's) and this is to make way for a new apron and taxiway towards runway 23R/5L. It is proposed that Terminal's 1 and 3 will undergo vast improvements and refurbishments, some parts of which may be demolished to be completely rebuilt. This will only be done in the current footprint of the terminal building, however, it is also proposed that Terminal 3 may be extended East. Terminal 2 will undergo a major extension to the West, allowing more gates and a larger apron area. There will also be a construction of a remote satellite terminal. A full length parallel taxiway may also be added to the 23L/5R (Runway 2) and more crossing points added across runway 23R/5L to improve ground movements of aircraft. The master plan also states that there will be dedicated facilities for 'no frills' airlines, but does not go into depth about what these could be. In the process of refurbishing Terminal 1, it is proposed that there will be a new control tower constructed. The current firestation 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 building. A large proportion of these changes may be started or already completed by 2015. Despite these big changes planned for the airport, the plan does strongly state that it will not consider a proposal for a third full-length runway at the airport before 2030.

Worldwide hub

The airport provides regular direct flights to many destinations worldwide by 85 airlines. Major North American carriers at Manchester include American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Airlines and US Airways from the United States, and Air Canada [seasonal], Air Transat and Zoom Airlines from Canada. UK operators serving the USA market are Virgin Atlantic Airways, BMI and British Airways. Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Pakistan International Airlines, Air Blue, Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways, Libyan Airways, Saudi Arabian Airlines and Syrian Arab Airlines serve the Asian market, whilst in 2008 Cathay Pacific Airways will restart their direct service to Hong Kong. Manchester is an international hub for BMI which offers several destinations from terminal 3. Charter airlines First Choice Airways, MyTravel, Thomas Cook and Thomsonfly use Manchester as their primary operational base. The airport serves as a secondary hub for Flybe, Jet2.com, bmibaby, XL Airways, Monarch Airlines, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic Airways and Pakistan International Airlines. Several other British airline carriers have a strong presence.

Manchester Airport now has flights to more destinations than any other UK airport, offering flights to 225 destinations, with more direct routes than Heathrow and Gatwick. Heathrow offers 180 destinations; all scheduled, whilst Gatwick has about 200, (although the two London airports handle considerably more flights and passengers than Manchester). Many of Manchester's overseas routes are served by charter flights to holiday destinations, some being seasonal.

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 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.

Due to the large number of tour operators based at the airport, and charter destinations that are served, Manchester Airport was often labeled a 'bucket and spade airport', a term invented by the media. However, the proportion of scheduled passengers from Manchester has climbed from just 40% in the early 1990s to reach 63% during the last twelve months, making the label much less valid.

Passenger numbers

File:Manchester regional destinations.jpg

Domestic and Irish destinations served from Manchester

Manchester is the fourth busiest airport in the UK and the biggest outside of London, in terms of passengers per year. In the twelve months to December 2006, Manchester handled 22.12 million terminal passengers, a figure exceeded only by Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted in the UK (per CAA 2006 annual traffic statistics report, Table 2.2). Manchester's passengers remained static in 2006, increasing by 0.2%, compared with average growth rates of 3.0% in the UK and 6.4% in Europe as a whole. The first eight months of 2007 have seen a steady overall reduction in passengers, with the moving 12 months total to August of 21.92 million, dropping by 1.2% compared with the previous year (UK airports average for the same period - 1.6% increase). The airport has fierce competition from London Stansted for passenger numbers and London Gatwick for total aircraft movements. In 2006 Manchester Airport was the world's 21st busiest airport in terms of international passengers, (16th in 2004), and ranked above some of the world's major aviation hubs, including Los Angeles International Airport (this is because many international passengers from Manchester fly only 3/400 miles (640 km) - a distance which would be 'inter-state' in the US)

The airport's latest long range plan, published in July 2006, forecasts that passenger numbers will increase to approximately 38 million passengers annualy by 2015, and 50 million by 2030 (an average growth rate of 6.2%). The airport authorities are examining measures to cope with this postulated increase, which so far has not materialised.

Security

Passengers passing through Terminal 2 security

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

• In 2002, a security firm successfully smuggled fake explosives, detonators and genuine firearms onto a flight.
• In 2004, the BBC's Whistleblower program revealed a series of 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

Manchester Airport has three interconnected terminals, allowing passengers to move between all the terminals without going outside. Terminals 1 and 3 are located in the same building and are connected by various walkways/passages. Terminals 1 and 2 are linked by the skywalk, with travelators to aid passengers with the long walk. The skywalk also connects the railway station (where a few shops and services are located) and the Radisson Hotel.

Terminal 1

Main article: List of destinations served by Manchester Airport Terminal 1

Manchester Airport Skywalk

Terminal 1 handles international traffic and is served by many scheduled airlines and charter operators. It is also used as the base for MyTravel and Thomas Cook Airlines; Monarch Airlines and Jet2.com also have a strong presence here. It has 24 stands, 18 of which have airbridges. Opened in 1962, the terminal has undergone many extensions and renovations since opening. There are currently 107 check-in desks in the terminal. The current passenger throughput is just over 9 million passengers per year. Terminal 1 is currently undergoing a major £35 million redevelopment. A large new mezzanine food court area has recently opened in the airside departure lounge, offering 4 new bars and restaurants with seating for 150 passengers. Work is also continuing on the redevelopment of the rest of Terminal 1. A new expanded and relocated security outbound control area is scheduled to open in Spring 2008. Following this, most of the current landside retail outlets will be scaled down, resulting in the creation of one of the UK's largest airside shopping facilities. A new 25,000 sq ft duty and tax free store will be open in time for Summer 2008 and the entire project will be completed by Summer 2009.

Terminal 2

Main article: List of destinations served by Manchester Airport Terminal 2

Terminal 2

Terminal 2 is mostly used by long haul and charter traffic. It opened in 1993 and is the airport's other major international terminal, handling many scheduled and international flights. Some European scheduled airlines such as Air France, KLM and Air Malta operate flights out of the terminal. Charter Airlines First Choice Airways, XL Airways and Thomsonfly use the terminal as a base, whilst Pakistan International Airlines and Virgin Atlantic Airways have a strong presence too. It has 15 gates, of which 14 have airbridges. There are currently 69 check-in desks, with plans to add more in future modifications of the terminal. Terminal 2 is planned to be capable of being extensively modified so it can eventually accommodate significantly more passengers than the current throughput of 7.8 million. This is a future project to be carried out within the next few years.

Terminal 3

Main article: List of destinations served by Manchester Airport Terminal 3

Terminal 3, for a short period known as Terminal 1 - British Airways, was opened by Diana, Princess of Wales in May 1989.British Airways had decided Manchester should be one of the hubs for their BA Connect service, now discontinued. The terminal is primarily used by Flybe, British Airways, American Airlines, BMI, bmibaby and domestic traffic. There are currently 46 check-in desks in Terminal 3. It has 18 gates, 14 of which have airbridges. Terminal 3 is currently working to expand capacity from its current throughput of 5.0 million passengers per year.

World Freight Terminal

File:Cargo Terminal.jpg

Cargo Terminal at Manchester

During 2006, 150,300 tonnes of cargo and mail were handled at Manchester, an increase of 0.4% over the previous year (per CAA annual statistics table 2.2). November 2006 saw a new record set at Manchester, with it handling 14,546 tonnes of cargo in the month. This beat the previous best set in October 2004. By 2015 the total figure for cargo handled is expected to be around 250,000 tonnes per year. 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 August 28th 2007, FedEx Express announced the start of a direct freighter service from Manchester to the USA. McDonnell Douglas MD-11 aircraft are used on the non-stop service to Memphis International Airport which is flown four times per week, from Monday through Thursday. On September 4th, Aeroflot inaugurated a direct cargo flight between Russia and the United Kingdom, the first of its kind. A DC-10 freighter is used on the once a week service, which is flown on Tuesdays, although the airline has stated that it intends to increase this to daily scheduled service as soon as possible. The airport currently handles an average of 6 Boeing 747 freighter flights daily. Cargo Airlines that serve Manchester are:

• Aeroflot-Cargo (Moscow-Sheremetyevo)
• Air China Cargo (Shanghai-Pudong)
• Air Contractors (Glasgow, London-Stansted, Paris-Charles de Gaulle)
• Cathay Pacific Cargo (Amsterdam, Brussels, Dubai, Hong Kong, Milan-Malpensa) - Operated by Cathay Pacific Cargo and Dragonair Cargo
• China Airlines Cargo (Taipei-Taiwan Taoyuan)
• Fedex (Memphis)
• Great Wall Airlines (Amsterdam, Shanghai-Pudong)
• Jett8 Airlines Cargo (Singapore)
• Libyan Arab Air Cargo (Tripoli)
• MNG Cargo Airlines (Istanbul-Ataturk)

Future airlines

• Air Sylhet (Dhaka, Sylhet)
• Afriqiyah Airways (Tripoli) [begins 2008 - Subject to Gov't Approval]
• Royal Bengal Airline (Dhaka)
• UK International Airlines (Islamabad, Sharjah)
• Air China (Beijing) [begins March 2009]
• Cathay Pacific (Hong Kong)[Begins 2008]
• Oasis Hong Kong Airlines (Hong Kong) [In planning stage]

Ground transportation

TransPennine Express Class 185 arriving at Manchester Airport Railway Station

The airport is approximately a 20 minute drive from Manchester City Centre and is reached by the M56 motorway, with a dedicated spur 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 A538 road serves the World Freight Terminal, to the south of the airport, and also connects to the M56 motorway at junction 6. It 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 you park in the short stay car parks provided for a fee. Long stay car parks are situated both on and off site.

Manchester Airport railway station, forming part of The Station, 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 and connect the airport to Manchester Piccadilly Station and other railway stations throughout northern England. Construction is now underway on building a third platform at the airport railway station, due to an increase in passenger numbers using the facility. The £15 million project will also meet the extra future demand for rail services to and from the airport and is expected to be completed by December 2008.

The Station also incorporates a bus station (see GMPTE map) with buses to many towns within Greater Manchester as well as the 24 hour bus Skyline to the City Centre at least every 30 minutes. National Express coaches link to places further afield.

There are also plans in place to build a Metrolink light rail extension to the airport from Manchester Piccadilly.

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. Three different 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 around 100 acres (0.4 km²) of greenbelt land. Four Grade II listed buildings were taken down piece by piece and were re-constructed nearby, and over £20m was spent on environmental restoration and protection. Nonetheless, there is criticism that existing natural habitats were destroyed.

The SW 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.

In 2007 Manchester Airport wanted to build on further green belt land in Styal in order to increase its car parking. However, 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. (Currently the town of Knutsford and village of Mobberley, directly under the flight path of planes, have no direct transport links to the airport.)

Incidents and accidents

• On 14 March 1957, British European Airways Flight "Bealine 411" operated by Vickers Viscount G-ALWE crashed on approach to Manchester Airport due to a flap failure caused by fatigue. All 20 occupants on board died and two on the ground.

• 1967 – Stockport Air Disaster – Canadair C-4 Argonaut crashed near Stockport on 4 June 1967 after loss of engine power and an aborted approach to Manchester Airport, with 72 fatalities.

• 1985 – British Airtours Flight 28M - an engine catches fire on the runway, the fire spreading into the cabin, resulting in 55 fatalities

• 16 July 2003 – Excel Airways Boeing 737-800 (G-XLAG) with 197 passengers took off from Manchester International Airport while vehicles were working near the end of the runway surface. Despite the crew being told the runway was operating at reduced length they did not notice and took off over the vehicles missing them by 56 ft (17 m), according to the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch.

• On March 1, 2005, a PIA Boeing 777-200ER after landing at Manchester International Airport, fire was seen around the left main landing gear. The crew and passengers were evacuated and fire put under control. There were minor injuries to some passengers and minor damage to aircraft.

Public attractions

File:CONCORDE.JPG

Concorde on display at the Aviation Viewing Park

Manchester Airport has created several public viewing areas since the airport opened to the public in 1938. The 1960/70s pier-top facilities have been closed because of security concerns. In May 1997, an official "Aviation Viewing Park" was created, just off the A538 road on the western edge of the airfield. This provides the best 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 taxi-ing to and from the runways.

On display is G-BOAC, a retired British Airways Concorde, once the flagship of the airline's seven-strong Concorde fleet, with access to its interior being by prior booking. The last airliner to be built in the UK, BAE Systems Avro RJX G-IRJX is also on view. The forward fuselage of Monarch Airlines Douglas DC-10 G-DMCA is on static display, which can be boarded by prior arrangement only. One of only two preserved Hawker Siddeley Trident 3B aircraft in the world, G-AWZK in full BEA livery, is open every weekend from April to October and is accessible with a pre paid ticket from the ticket office opposite the aviation shop.

Good views of the runways can be obtained from the 'AVP', especially between 12:00 and 15:00 when runway 23R/05L is used for both landings and departures, this being closest to the viewing area itself. The park also features a cafe, and an aviation shop selling related items such as airband scanners, aircraft models books and stationery, and Concorde merchandise.

The roof of the short-stay car park at Terminal 1 features another official viewing area, which has been a spotters' location 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.

See also

• RAF Ringway
• Manchester Airports Group

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 site
• Satellite Image at Google Maps
• Guardian Article: Eco-warriors win propaganda battle
• Guardian Article: Sell-out claim as trust agrees to fell trees
• AirportWatch
• Manchester Airport Consultative Committee
• Trident Preservation Society (for information on preserved Trident G-AWZK)