Manchester Airport is the biggest in the UK outside London, around nine miles south of the city centre by the M56. It serves the whole of the North and much of the Midlands. Around 30 million passengers pass through it each year, flying to around two hundred destinations.
The airport opened in 1938 as Ringway, named after the area where it was built, and during the Second World War it was the home of the parachute training school where tens of thousands of paratroopers learned to jump. Today it is largely owned by the councils of Greater Manchester. It is the only UK airport apart from Heathrow with two full length runways.
For millions of people across the North, a holiday or a business trip starts and ends here. Knowing a few things before you go makes the day much easier, from which terminal you need to how the drop-off works. Here is our guide.
1. Check your terminal
Manchester has more than one terminal and airlines move between them. Your booking or the airline’s app will say which, and it is worth checking the day before. It matters, because the terminals have their own forecourts and drop-off areas.
In recent years, the airport has been through a huge rebuilding programme, known as the transformation programme, centred on a much larger Terminal 2. The new Terminal 2 is bright and spacious, with a large security hall and a wide choice of shops and places to eat. As the work has gone on, airlines have moved from one terminal to another.
Terminal 3 has long been used by a number of airlines, including some low-cost carriers. The terminals are linked by walkways and by the Skylink, which connects them to the railway station and the tram stop. If you are unsure, allow time to walk between them.
If you are being driven, tell your driver the terminal when you book, and they will head for the right drop-off area. If your airline changes terminals after you book, update your booking. A few minutes spent checking can save a long walk with your bags.
The airport’s own website has up to date information on which airline uses which terminal. It also has information on security, parking and facilities. It is worth a look before any trip.
2. Drop-off
Like most UK airports, Manchester charges for dropping off at the terminal forecourt. The charge is for a short stay at the kerb, and you pay by the time you spend there. The charges change from time to time, so check the airport’s website.
There is usually a free option further from the terminals, with a shuttle bus to take you the rest of the way. It saves money, but it adds time, and it means lifting your bags on and off a bus. With children or heavy luggage, it can be a struggle.
A booked car handles the drop-off for you, right to the door. Your driver pulls up in the right drop-off area, helps you with your bags and you walk straight into the terminal. There is no car to park and no shuttle to wait for.
For the drive home from the terminal, you have no need to find your car in a car park, or to pay for parking for a week or two. If you are driven to the airport, the car is not sitting in a car park while you are away. For many families, that is the simplest way to start a holiday.
The roads around the airport can be busy, especially in the early morning when many flights leave. The M56 and the approach roads can queue at peak times. Allow for the time of day when you book.
3. Pickups
Arrivals are the stressful part: a long flight, bags, children and a queue for taxis. After a night flight, all anyone wants is to get home. A booked car turns the end of the trip into the easy part.
With a booked car, your driver has your flight number and meets you at a set point. With the flight number, they can check when it is due to land. If it is early or late, that is no surprise.
At Manchester, private hire pickups are made from set pickup areas, often in the car parks close to the terminals. Your journey page shows your driver’s name, the car’s make, colour and registration, and where to meet. When you land, you know exactly where you are going.
If you would like your driver to meet you inside, in the arrivals hall, add Meet and Greet when you book. Your driver waits for you with a sign with your name on it, helps with the bags and walks you to the car. It is especially useful for first-time visitors and older relatives.
Book your pickup before you fly, rather than when you land. That way, the car and the price are fixed, and there is nothing to sort out when you are tired. Add child or booster seats if you need them, and they are fitted before you are collected.
4. Timing
Allow at least two hours before a short-haul flight and three for long haul, more in the school holidays. See how early to get to the airport. Your airline will tell you when check-in and bag drop close, and that is a deadline you cannot miss.
Manchester is at its busiest in the summer holidays, at Christmas and at the start of the school half terms. Early mornings are especially busy, because many holiday flights leave at the crack of dawn. Queues for bag drop and security can be long.
If you are flying from Manchester, work backwards from your flight time. Decide what time you want to arrive at the terminal, then add the journey time from home, with extra time for traffic. That is the time to book your pickup.
From most of Greater Manchester, the airport is around half an hour to forty five minutes by car, depending on the time of day. From across the North, it can be an hour or more. If in doubt, leave earlier.
Check your airline’s rules on liquids and hand luggage before you pack. Rules at airports have been changing as new scanners are introduced, so check before you go. It avoids delays at security.
5. Meet and Greet
Add Meet and Greet when you book and your driver waits in arrivals with your name. See Meet and Greet explained. It turns the end of the journey into a warm welcome.
Meet and Greet is ideal if you are collecting someone who does not know Manchester, such as a visitor from abroad, or a relative who would rather not find their own way. Instead of looking for a car in a car park, they walk out of arrivals and see their name. Their driver helps with the bags and walks them to the car.
It is a popular choice for business guests too. If you are welcoming a client to Manchester, a driver waiting with their name makes a good impression. It shows they are expected and looked after.
For families with young children and lots of luggage, having someone to help from the moment you arrive can make a big difference. Meet and Greet is shown in the total before you book. You only pay for it if you add it.
If you know the airport and travel light, meeting your driver at the pickup point is quicker. It is your choice. Either way, the car is booked and waiting.
Getting there by train and tram
Manchester Airport has its own railway station, next to the terminals and linked to them by the Skylink walkway. Direct trains run to Manchester Piccadilly in around twenty minutes, and on to many towns and cities across the North and beyond. It is a good option if you are travelling light and live near a station on a direct line.
The airport is also at the end of a Metrolink tram line, which runs through Wythenshawe to the city. The tram is slower than the train, but it stops in many neighbourhoods on the way. With a lot of luggage, or early in the morning before the first trains, a car is often easier.
Watching the planes
Manchester Airport’s Runway Visitor Park, beside the runways, is a popular place to watch the planes take off and land. It has a Concorde on display, along with other aircraft you can look around on tours. Families and aviation fans travel from miles around.
It is a good place to fill an hour if you are early to collect someone, or a fun day out for children who love planes. Check opening times and tour tickets before you go.
From across the North
Manchester Airport is around 40 minutes from Stockport, Bolton or Warrington in normal traffic, and an hour or so from Leeds, Liverpool or Sheffield. Every transfer is priced before you book, and the price does not move if the M60 is slow.
From Cheshire, Lancashire, Merseyside or Yorkshire, an early flight means an early start, so book the pickup to leave plenty of time. For a family or a group with bags, one car to the door is often less than parking for a fortnight. See airport parking or an airport transfer and our Manchester guide.
Ride with ZeroLanes. A car booked ahead, at a price fixed before you confirm, with the driver and the car on your journey page before pickup. Book an airport transfer.