Could this be the UK's best airport to travel from?
Doha Hamad, Hong Kong, Singapore Changi, Tokyo Haneda, Seoul Incheon. World class airports that are all rated some of the best experiences for travel globally. Having travelled through three of the five above, all had pleasant, airy and fluid departure and arrival procedures that made travelling a breeze. The primary UK gateway airport, London Heathrow, is certainly not in the same league, despite recent improvements, but could its predominance be facing new competition from the north?
Step forward, Manchester Airport Terminal 2
As part of a GBP 1 billion investment, Manchester Airport Group (MAG), who is also the operator of Stansted Airport, to redevelop the airport experience for the UK's second largest metropolitan area. Read any forum and you will see complaints about Manchester Airport, in particular the slow and painful security experience at Terminal 1 and 3, which is certainly not suitable for a city that is a growing powerhouse for the nation. The programme of redevelopment involved the the temporary closure of the terminal for a number of the years in order to completely revamp the passenger experience at the city's airport.
Dubbed Manchester's "Super Terminal", the focus for improvements have centred on:
- a new and expanded departures hall
- greater seating (albeit that looks uncomfortable)
- greater ceiling height
- "honeycomb" light installation representing Manchester as the UK's "worker bee" city
- expanded baggage reclaim
- new security area
- larger arrivals hall
- new restaurant options including an outstation of the excellent Pot Kettle Black
Although a lot of this is unlikely to impact the passenger's journey, such as the honeycomb installation, there is still a substantial amount which will. As previously mentioned, the larger security area should make slow processing a thing of the past and expanded seating should allow passengers to get more comfortable when transiting. For me, it looks like the biggest change will be the ceiling height. As much as Heathrow Terminal 3 is host to some of the best airport lounges, including Cathay Pacific and Qantas, it is awfully stuffy and somewhat claustrophobic caused by the low ceilings - this should be in the past for this specific terminal at Manchester. Just take a look at this flythrough posted to the airport's YouTube page - seriously impressive stuff!
Airlines operating from the new terminal include:
- Jet2
- TUI
- Qatar Airways
- Etihad Airways
- Singapore Airlines (including it's fifth freedom route from Manchester to Houston)
- Brussels Airlines
- Ethiopian Airlines
- Aegean Airlines
- Eurowings
- Air Baltic
- Virgin Atlantic Airways
All other airlines are currently operating from Terminal 1 due to the pandemic and reduced demand. What is most exciting is that Virgin Atlantic are planning to open a Clubhouse lounge at the terminal which is amongst the very best lounge experiences on offer. This should make departing from Manchester almost an equal experience to Heathrow for departing upper class passengers.
I'm unlikely to be travelling to Manchester Airport Terminal 3 any time soon, but it looks great and the future is certainly rosy for this Northern Powerhouse airport. Maybe soon it can become the new hub for all the United Kingdom?
What's your thoughts on the new Manchester Airport Terminal 3?