MANCHESTER AIRPORT review :  10 June 2009 : by R Brook  (UK)

Customer Rating :  2/5

Queuing

Cleanliness

Facilities

I have been using Manchester frequently over the past 15 years. Overall, it's getting worse, although with the recent addition of many more screening points the security queues are much shorter and efficient than the previous horrendous experience. Check in (having used many different airlines) is usually OK. As with any airport, if you want to avoid long lines arrive early. In Terminal 1, beyond security I hate the way one is led through a maze of perfume stalls before reaching the departure lounge. I don't mind airport shops, but not so 'in your face'. It really creates the wrong impression. They've avoided this particular folly in Terminal 2. T2 business lounge (mostly use Sky Team - KLM/Air France) is very small, but adequate if not busy. Arrival experience is variable. Long delays in getting off the plane are common, due to no one to operate the air bridge/no one to drive the mobile steps/no buses waiting when parking remotely. Queues at immigration have lengthened over the years, as, on average, has waiting for the baggage. If using the long stay car park and pre-paying on the internet to avoid the extortionate on-the-day charges, the part where you are supposed to insert your credit card at the entry barrier doesn't work. Instead, call them at the exit barrier when you leave and quote your reference number. My card was charged correctly after this. Overall, the airport looks shabby, doesn't operate particularly well and can't really be called a pleasant experience. The managers should pay a visit to some Asian airports to see how an airport can be run.

MANCHESTER AIRPORT review :  1 June 2009 : by F Saeed  (UK)

Customer Rating :  2/5

Queuing

Cleanliness

Facilities

Travelling through Manchester was a borderline unpleasant experience. I found the Airport dirty, uninviting and staff looked fed up. Manchester must be the only airport where UK nationals endure queues at immigration while non nationals are whisked through. The shops, aren't particularly good and are expensive. The airport needs to be updated structurally. A lot of the parts look tired.

MANCHESTER AIRPORT review :  1 June 2009 : by N Brown  (Saudi Arabia)

Customer Rating :  3/5

Queuing

Cleanliness

Facilities

Manchester airport should provide small trolleys like Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam, provides for passengers' to transport their hand luggage around the shops, cafes and from gate to gate.

MANCHESTER AIRPORT review :  27 May 2009 : by Robert Szocik  (UK)

Customer Rating :  3/5

Queuing

Cleanliness

Facilities

Arrived/Departed from Terminal 3 to LHR. I've flown from all the terminals in the past, and generally had good experiences. On this occasion, I arrived in a packed A319. Despite a walk which rivals LHR T2 in terms of excessive distance to the exit, I was off the plane and outside the terminal less than 10 minutes after landing. Impressive! Departure to LHR was quick and easy, but the terminal was fairly empty and there were no queues at security, and helpful/friendly staff. Shoes are scanned separately, but only if you trigger the walk-through scanner (I didn't), which a big improvement since the last time I used this airport - the sooner we no longer have to partially undress to clear security, especially when flying domestic, the better. As has been mentioned by others, virtually all facilities at MAN have been moved airside. Although I arrived at the gates at just after 2000, nothing was open. Most of the passengers seemed to be wandering around aimlessly, in what appeared to be a vain attempt to find shops/cafes which were actually open. As we cannot buy anything landside, and are still not allowed to take adequate quantities of fluids through security, this is completely unacceptable at an airport of this size! Admittedly, the terminal appeared to be preparing for its last flights of the day, but one expects better of a supposedly major international airport.

MANCHESTER AIRPORT review : 18 May 2009: by Bill Atkins

Customer Rating : 3/5

T3 escalator from car park to departures not working. Go outside, cross road and into terminal - escalator there to departures also not working. Security swift and friendly but maybe due to absence of passengers. I wish that the infrastructure here was more reliable.

MANCHESTER AIRPORT review : 7 May 2009: by Fred Hodgson

Customer Rating : 2/5

Manchester is the pits. It used to be so good and I had started to use it again to route to Schiphol and Paris to avoid LGW/LHR. I may have to change plans. We arrive in at T3 and usually leave via T2 which is on the super scenic but totally useless aerial walkway via the train station. The actual hike is no big deal and takes around 15 mins. But the mad man that designed the place does not permit level transit through covered connections. Oh no! You have to leave the T1 approach and head out into the rain to T3 and force your trolley over curbs as they did not even have the wit to provide access ramps. Pathetic. Signage is hopeless and even after several visits I had to ask the way. On this visit we had been travelling for 14 hours so had decided to eat a full meal to save time at home. Where? There is NOwhere in T3 worthy of the name Restaurant. We asked before Security as we could have fallen back to the Radisson when shot of our luggage. Man said plenty of good restaurants after Security. The best that was on offer was Pie and Chips. We even had to visit a Bar to get the wine. This made the lads day as he tried to sell us a couple of glasses at £4 each and nearly passed out when I said I wanted the bottle. He had no idea of the price (really upmarket in Manchester) so I settled on a tenner. Then the dolly at the Cafe said I could not take my bottle to the table. She learned a couple of new words. Will Manchester ever shake off its image when you cannot even get a meal at its Airport? Mushy Peas a plenty but anything more exotic is beyond them!

MANCHESTER AIRPORT review : 5 May 2009: by D Higson

Customer Rating : 1/5

We found the facilities for transfer passengers at Manchester Terminal 1 to be abysmal. Having recently returned to Manchester from Florida which meant an overnight flight, therefore no sleep for several hours, we had to transfer from terminal 2 to terminal 1 to fly out to Spain. [A long walk between terminals.] At terminal 1 we found that we could not check-in for the next flight for four and a half hours! Where to spend the time? The only option was the gloomy, draughty Arrivals hall, which had Boots Chemist, one cafe, one Greggs Bakery and a WHS and very hard seating. Being hampered by a luggage trolley containing 4 suitcases, we could not use the cafe facilities as we were constantly being reminded that we should keep our luggage with us at all times for security reasons! And we weren't alone, there was also a gentleman [wheelchair bound] and his wife, [manhandling a trolley of suitcases] who had done the overnight flight from Chicago, who needed the Monarch flight to the Canary Islands. What they must have thought of facilities at Manchester is anyone's guess!! How many millions have they spent on this redevelopment? Perhaps some thought for the passengers transferring flights would have prevented this shambles.

MANCHESTER AIRPORT review : 23 April 2009: by R Chard

Customer Rating : 2/5

They have now found a new way to rip of the traveller - £1 for a plastic bag to put your bits and pieces into at security screening in T3. Masses of overpriced high-end shopping between security and gates, no signs, no straight path through the shops. Avoid it unless you have no choice - unfortunately I don't.

MANCHESTER AIRPORT review : 15 April 2009: by M Taylor

Customer Rating : 3/5

Terminal 1. Improving but still a way to go. Staff were all courteous and cheerful. Not a lot to do before or after security. Tried one restaurant (Giraffe) which was very good. Departure lounge was adequate as was the boarding process. On arrival, a bit of a walk to baggage reclaim. Immigration was quick due to new electronic passport scanning. Bags arrived quickly.

MANCHESTER AIRPORT review : 14 April 2009: by A Gibson

Customer Rating : 1/5

If you have any alternative, avoid MAN at all costs. On a visit to Wales from my home in NYC, I decided to travel thru MAN since it seemed to be the nearest access point. Despite being a relatively small airport I got the impression it had been designed by architects based on the principal of maximum passenger inconvenience blended with the worst of 70s decor. The walk from my plane to Immigration was lengthy and the airport doesn't even appear to possess any travelators (there were none on the departure side of my experience either). I gather the airport is undergoing renovations, but until they are finished I would avoid this place like the plague and just fly to London and then rent a car. Then you get to spend night in London too (don't waste your time with a night in Manchester - it's deadly ugly and there's basically nothing to do there at night unless you want plastic pizza from a chain restaurant).

MANCHESTER AIRPORT review : 26 March 2009: by L Lacey

Customer Rating : 1/5

Manchester Airport is undergoing a multi million pound redevelopment of it's terminals. Unfortunately, to noones's benefit. Terminal 1 used to have a fantastic landside shopping and dining area. No more. It has all been moved to airside. Therefore, passengers like me who use the on site Airport hotels no longer have access to these facilities. Terminal 2 is the same. The landside facilities have been wiped out. You now have to go to the arrivals section. I must say, the facilities here are very limited and gloomy. The walkway from the station to Terminal 3 has been closed. You now have a 15 minute walk through a maze or wait for a bus for up to 20 minutes.

MANCHESTER AIRPORT review : 11 March 2009: by Christopher Pickin

Customer Rating : 1/5

Hopeless baggage handling. There were about six ski bags going round and coning off on the corners - pushed back on by passengers, but they took up so much of the rack that they were not allowing anything else to come out! After Zurich, the whole place seems tatty, walking distances too long and similarly the passport control queues.

MANCHESTER AIRPORT review : 16 February  2009: by Bill Atkins

Customer Rating : 2/5

T2 a disgrace. Escalator between departures and arrivals not working. Lifts filthy. Terminal full of construction areas. Toilets lacking and those there are filthy and old. The shops are in fine condition by comparison. Manchester should be truly ashamed of giving so awful an impression to visitors.

MANCHESTER AIRPORT review : 26 January 2009: by S Pathirana

Customer Rating : 3/5

I have used Terminals 1,2 and 3 in the past few years. Standards definitely slipping all over, prices keep going up in the airport. Nothing special so to speak of. Arrival is very good, though, both immigration and baggage claim are never a hassle. Lounges aren't of very good standard.

MANCHESTER AIRPORT review : 19 January 2009: by P v Niessen

Customer Rating : 2/5

Horrendous experience. Things go from bad to worse at Manchester Airport. After the recent improvements in terminal one there is even less seating. What there is, is filthy and has not been refurbished like the shops. The huge duty free shop you are forced to walk through is highly annoying - as are the queues for security and immigration. This is not a shopping center - it is a public amenity.

MANCHESTER AIRPORT review : 19 January 2009: by Bill Atkins

Customer Rating : 1/5

Took delivery of rental car in T1 - only 1 lift out of 3 working between arrivals/departure/train/car park/rental cars. I suppose there is no money for this kind of repair, since it has all been spent on the shopping facilities. T3 security on departure is working better now - I predict that one day it will be as smooth as it was before the addition of 21st century technology. Would be 3 stars except for the lift fiasco.

MANCHESTER AIRPORT review : 13 January 2009: by Ian Morley

Customer Rating : 2/5

I have used the airport many times during the last year and have been disappointed each time. The new T1 set-up is awful. Despite the continued construction (that never seems to progress), the rule where you have to negotiate your way through the duty free shop whilst being accosted by annoying and bored sales staff is stupid. I am a business traveller and want to get to the gate asap - not spend twenty minutes trying to find the departure lounge. The seating is a disgrace - broken and dirty seats, others covered in rubbish that remains unmoved. The toilets stink and many are broken. They have removed the ability to walk between T3 and T1 - it is now replaced by a bus. So it now takes twice as long to get to the train station and stand around in the cold with all the smokers waiting for a bus to turn up. I don't know what the strategic plan is for Man to improve customer service, but it simply isn't working. At least they have got rid of that horrendous smoking area in T3 - it made the whole departure lounge totally disgusting.

MANCHESTER AIRPORT review : 6 January 2009: by Sam Nagy

Customer Rating : 3/5

T1 - A construction site. The terminal was packed and hepatic, and limited airside shops. The only plus side is the new security, but this has wiped out the public landside seating area/shops. T2 - Modern, efficient, and easy to use. Again, the new security is very efficient, but during the terminal modernization, they've permanently closed the public landside shops/cafe. T3 - Again very modern, all though the security line was hell. The airside area is also quite boring, but great views of the northern runway.

MANCHESTER AIRPORT review : 19 December 2008 : by R Watson

Customer Rating : 3/5

Used T2 Nov and Dec - quick check in with Emirates Business class and new security area - up escalator and through very quickly -usual crowds in concourse but business lounge ok except for very poor toilets

MANCHESTER AIRPORT review : 2 December 2008 : by Vincent Cafferky

Customer Rating : 4/5

Arrived Manchester Airport Terminal Two after overnight flight from St. Lucia. No air bridge so bus transfer to terminal. Quickly through Immigration (travelling with girlfriend who does not have EU passport). Immigration very polite and efficient. One piece of luggage already on carousel and other quickly after. To Departures to be collected by waiting greeter. Better than using arrivals car park!! Departure via Terminal One to Dublin using Ryanair, already checked in on line. Through Security by scanner to open gate and straight through without any queue on early Saturday morning. Improvements since last flight in July. Complaints about going through shops seem like complaining for the sake of it. Good to see what is on offer. Return from Dublin very efficient even with long tour of airport to Baggage. Return to St Lucia via Terminal Two. Great improvements and further more hoped for but why is there no restaurant to sit down and have waiter service for a meal? When carrying even small amount of hand luggage it is hard to also carry a tray of food. Both terminals used have seen improvements over the past year and continuous changes are in place. Still has the local airport feel but with many long haul destinations.

MANCHESTER AIRPORT review : 28 November 2008 : by K Halouska

Customer Rating : 1/5

I have travelled through MAN Terminal 1 in the early summer and again last week. There is still no improvement whatsoever. Check-in desks at multiple levels. Security is straight forward. However, having negotiated that, you have to zigzag your way through perfume counters into a crowded and ugly terminal building (as everyone on this page comments - it use to be so pleasant, spacious and light a few years ago). Even worse, going down the pier to ones gate you have to go up and down stairs, no escalators. It is even worse arriving. Why have they opted for this? Other piers in European and American airports are open for arriving and departing passengers. They have really ruined this terminal. In a Manchester airport magazine they were signing its praises. Just close the terminal, bulldoze it, and build a new facility.

MANCHESTER AIRPORT review : 23 November 2008 : by Leo Enticknap

Customer Rating : 3/5

Quite a long walk from the railway station to Terminal 2, but there are travelators. Queues for luggage drop and security on departure and immigration and baggage collection on arrival were all minimal. Once airside there were no luggage trolleys available and the departure area was very crowded, with long queues at all the shops and restaurants. Large numbers of drunk and abusive passengers waiting for holiday flights also made the airside wait a stressful and unpleasant experience. I'd only use Manchester again if the tickets were a lot cheaper than a flight from Leeds or Teesside (which was why I went from MAN this time).

MANCHESTER AIRPORT review : 9 November 2008 : by Gavin Stewart

Customer Rating : 4/5

Some quick tips on the new Manchester security procedures. You pop your boarding pass in the slot, the gate opens, you go through. If you've got an electronic BP (eg internet check in), you hold the bar code over the screen; the gate opens. If all this is too much for you, some old-style human beings are on hand to take you through manually. If that is still too much for you, I suggest you stay at home and avoid air travel altogether. Whilst awaiting your turn, you may encounter the occasional queue. Welcome to 2008.

MANCHESTER AIRPORT review : 6 November 2008 : by Bill Atkins

Customer Rating : 1/5

New T3 security has everyone going through barriers with boarding pass scanners (which have never worked well anywhere else, so MAN decided to give them a try) with staff to tell you what to do when they don't work and don't enjoy doing this as it is meant to put them out of a job if they ever do work. Then endless martialling in waiting lanes -the backwards-and-forwards type so favoured by airports - until you arrive at security totally stressed and bemused. Just when we thought Manchester could not get worse, they have found yet another way to make it less enjoyable.