Flying to America just got a whole lot easier! Thomas Cook have recently revealed that they will provide flights from Manchester Airport to Seattle as part of their 2018 summer programme.
The addition of the new route cements Thomas Cook’s title of the largest long-haul carrier from Manchester, flying to more US destinations than any other airline. Continue reading…
Manchester has recently claimed a spot within Europe’s top 20 busiest airports after records show 26 million passengers passed through the airport in the past 12 months since February 2016. That’s over 100 times more people than can fit in the Manchester Stadium!
The milestone is a great achievement for the airport, as it highlights 3 years of consistent growth, with 1.7m passengers passing through its terminals in February alone. Continue reading…
An aircraft boasting the title of world’s most ‘efficient and modern’ plane has started service at Manchester Airport. The Singapore Airline Airbus 350-900 touched down for the first time in the UK at 8am on Tuesday, 40 minutes ahead of schedule! This development makes Manchester the only non-London airport within the UK to have this specific plan in operation, and will see the Asian airline serve Houston and Singapore from its terminals. Continue reading…
Each September the airport sees an influx of international students as a brand new year of students begin life at any of the 25 universities closeby. This one, was a record September.
September 2016 saw a huge 2.7m passengers use the airport’s facilities, bumping up their annual total to 25 million! Continue reading…
Manchester Airport has made history by becoming the first UK airport outside of London to offer direct flights to the mainland in China. The route, which will take place four times a week, will offer a huge convenience to the 100,000 passengers who have, up until now, been flying non-direct. Continue reading…
Good news for sun-seeker’s – Vueling Airlines have just announced new routes to three different destinations for the summer.
The airline have recently said it will offer one flight a week to Tenerife, which is the largest of the Canary Islands, during July and August. This will be followed by two flights a week in September and October, which is ideal if you don’t manage to get away in the summer!
Vueling Airlines will be departing from Terminal 3.
June will also mark the start of two new routes to Alicante and Rome. With Vueling already flying to Barcelona, it would seem that the budget airline are the people to travel with this summer. This expansion of routes is certainly good news for Manchester Airport as well. This will hopefully help to increase the already substantial 22 million passengers a year the airport welcomes.
The airline hopes to be able to offer 108,000 seats over the summer period and with flights available right into the winter months, it seems as if a bit of winter sun may be within reach – and for a good price as well! We look forward to these developments and hope that the passengers get to experience the holiday of their dreams.
If you’re looking for your upcoming flight departure, why not check out our departure pages?
Let us know if you’re flying with Vueling below in the comments – safe travelling!
How would you fancy being part of the Manchester Airport terminals refurbishment and make your mark in the airport’s history? The airport has been reaching out to local businesses to ask them for a £500m investment to transform their terminal buildings, as part of their 10-year programme to improve the airport.
£500M #Manchester Airport contracts up for grabs https://t.co/VjOCvqiYEe @manairport #construction pic.twitter.com/GDirJwjK5L
— UKConstruction Media (@UKConstructionm) 11 December 2015
The plan involves an extension being built which will lead to Terminal 2 being more than double the size it is currently. Not only this, but they also plan to improve the existing access roads by making them more efficient and give the existing forecourt an upgrade. Along with this, Manchester Evening News has stated that links will be created to connect Terminal 2 to Terminal 3 and “Terminal 1 will be demolished”. The improvements inside the buildings will include security queue times being cut to just 5 minutes.
The airport has stated that although this is a 10-year programme, the effects will last much longer than that. The project is said to be creating another 20,000 jobs, which would mean that this is double what they offer already. However, it looks as if they are going to need all the help they can get; with 10 miilion passengers expected to be passing through within the next decade.
It would seem that the airport is not only trying to attract customers, but also new airlines and new routes. The airport is keen to improve their customer services in order to be noticed along with the biggest airports in the UK such as Heathrow and Gatwick. It is already the only UK airport outside the capital city with direct routes to Miami, Hong Kong, Jeddah, Singapore, Atlanta, Washington and Boston. This expansion will clearly be a massive opportunity for this airport.
It’s not only Manchester Airport Terminals that will be affected by this set of improvements. This will also be a big deal for the local area, and the entirety of Manchester city itself. It is thought that with the airport having all of these improvements, the local tourism industry would see an increase too. It would seem that this transformation is good for everyone!
In an interview with ITV News, the Manchester airport transformation programme director Brad Miller said “Over the next decade, the airport will continue to develop as a global gateway for the UK, directly to and from the North, and these enhancements will enable us to further adapt, modernise and transform the customer service experience we are able to offer.” Although the project will span for at least 10 years, it seems that this experience can only be a positive one. The only thing we’re waiting for now, is a business which is willing to invest.
If you’re a Manchester resident, we’d love to hear your thoughts about the expansion and how it will be affecting you. Let us know in the comments below!
Earlier this week an RAF Typhoon fighter jet was scrambled from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire to escort Qatar Airways flight QR23 to Manchester Airport. The flight, which had taken off from Doha, was deemed to be a security threat to the UK after a passenger claimed that there was a bomb on board.
The Airbus flight carried 269 passengers and 13 crew and landed safely at a remote part of the runway before armed police boarded the plane and arrested a 47-year-old man. Nine incoming flights had to be diverted and flights were fully suspended for 25 minutes.
Police were later able to confirm that the incident had been a hoax and it now transpires that the man, from the North West of England, has been sectioned under the Mental Health Act. He had handed a note to a member of the cabin crew stating that there was a bomb on board and had apparently seemed sober and coherent. Air traffic control was advised accordingly, resulting in the action from the RAF Quick Reaction Alert Fighter.
It seems that although this particular incident has hit the headlines in a big way, perhaps because of other recent bad news in the aviation industry, fighter jets are launched more often than you might think.
They were scrambled 17 times last year, 21 times in 2012 and 20 in 2011. Reasons for scrambling include if a plane has lost contact, if it is not responding to air traffic control, if a security threat is reported (as in this case) or if it is acting unusually.
If you’re concerned that your flight might be delayed in connection with these disruptions, check the flight arrivals and departure details now.
However, if you believe you are entitled to compensation or want to check your passenger rights, read more about travel disruptions and what you may be owed.
Saudia Airlines, the flag carrier airline of Saudi Arabia, will be returning to Manchester airport in 2014 with three direct flights to Jeddah per week. Flights will depart from Manchester Airport’s terminal two on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays beginning on March 28th.
Saudia had terminated all routes from Manchester Airport in 2007, but now with the city’s quickly growing diversity, airport authorities are confident that these re-established routes will attract large numbers of both business and leisure passengers.
Saudia Airlines will now be departing from Terminal 2 at Manchester Airport.
At the time of the 2001 census, 9.1 % of Manchester’s population identified themselves as Muslim, giving Greater Manchester one of the largest Muslim populations in the UK. Part of this statistic can be attributed to the many Saudi students who have chosen to further their education in the internationally recognised universities in the north of England. These students will now have an easier and more convenient way to get home, and others will benefit from this service when travelling in the religious pilgrimages of Hajj and Umrah.
Ken O’Toole, chief commercial officer for Manchester Airports Group, stated: "The introduction of this route is testament to the strength of Manchester airport’s catchment and we look forward to this direct service supporting the strong commercial, ethnic and educational relationships that exist between Saudi Arabia and the north west."
Saudia is a member of the Arab Air Carriers Organisation and joined the SkyTeam airline alliance on 29 May 2012. The airline was once the largest carrier in the region, but due to the continuing development and rapid growth of other airports, Saudia is now ranked third largest, behind Emirates and Qatar Airways.
Staff at Manchester Airport have been undertaking some unusual training recently, helping them to detect vulnerable men, women and children being brought into the UK illegally.
Front-line immigration officials are of course the most obvious staff likely to pick up tell-tale signs. However, other staff, including cleaners and baggage handlers, have also undergone the training, which was delivered by various agencies, including the Home Office, Greater Manchester Police, and the UK Border Force, as well as charities such as Stop the Traffik and Saheli, a Manchester-based charity that campaigns against forced marriage.
The usual perception that human trafficking involves people being brought into the country in containers or as stowaways is simply not the whole story. They are just as likely to be sitting on a plane and then queuing up at immigration with everyone else.
Staff were trained to look out for signs including over-hearing passengers rehearsing their stories about where they come from and why they have made the journey, individuals in groups who look out of place or unhappy, signs of fear or anxiety including body language, and physical signs of abuse.
They were also told of the need to continue their vigilance after leaving work. Once in the local community, the training can still be useful as it is frequently not until vulnerable people leave the airport that their predicament becomes clear. They may have been lured to the UK with promises of a better life only to discover that they have in fact been duped into working in the sex industry.
The airport chaplain at Manchester, George Lane, has described the training as invaluable not only for helping his staff but also the vulnerable people involved.
For more information on security going in and out of Manchester Airport and whether you’ll be affected, check before you travel.
