Manchester Airport

Not Verified | On departure - hopelessly overcrowded, long queues at security, quite unbearable, nowhere acceptable to sit down. But return (on delayed LH flight) seriously unacceptable: 3 - in words: three passenger buses to get us to arrivals. Eventually busses came, and dropped at the end of a horrendous passport control queue. We are treated like animals, more than an hour in the middle of the night. Of course, no more trains to escape from this - sitting in the beautifully filthy train station, what a joy to have to hang around here for another 90 minutes. I will resist any 'temptations' to use this airport again. Have used this airport regularly for many years, seen it get worse year by year. Now it has reached a point where it is not recommended to use this airport anymore.

Not Verified | We were not impressed with Manchester Airport. Coming from Switzerland where things normally work well, Manchester airport seemed very disorganized and very chaotic. On our way into England we had long queues at passport control and another long wait for our luggage. We did not have English Pounds, Euros or a suitable card to pay for a luggage trolley and so we had to carry our heavy bags to the taxi by hand. This was no good at all for my painful back. On our way home we wanted to get some dinner at the airport but even arriving early, the queue at security took over one hour. We had no time for any dinner so got onto our return flight very hungry. We also noticed that the toilets were very dirty and smelly compared to those we are used to in Switzerland. We enjoyed our time in England but we did not enjoy using this airport. It is dirty, disorganized and with queuing everywhere. Not something we are used to in our travel around Europe. I think if we come to the UK again we will avoid this airport and try to fly to London instead.

Not Verified | I collected 3 passengers arriving from Poland. The flight was 20 minutes late. Baggage delivery was with about 30 minutes delay. Thus I had to pay £ 9.50 for parking for just over the hour. I regard this as a total disgrace. Likewise, drop off procedures at MAN are archaic and costly. The approach road to T3 from Styal is no better than a country lane and that to an airport aspiring to international acclaim. Add to this the walk passengers have to take on arrival, through narrow corridors, up and down narrow stairs (T2) and then the long queues at immigration and the slow baggage delivery, what do foreign visitors have to think? In my frequent travelling experience MAN is one of the worst airports around. I avoid it now if I can and prefer EMA, BHX.

✅ Trip Verified | I was taking my 93 year old Mum to stay with my brother in Amsterdam. We had researched the new drop off & collect system before going to the airport, due to my mothers inability to walk & being a blue badge holder. On drop off there seemed to be people with common sense so all went well & I was able to be dropped at the entrance. However the collection was an entirely different story, upon arrival I was unable to get anywhere near the entrance & was told very rudely & repeatedly by a very patronising security man that we would be charged £100 if we did not use the car park & there were no concessions for blue badge holders. I am unsure as to how to expect people who are unable to walk to be collected. My brother had to then go back & fetch another wheelchair to be able to get my Mum to the car park. Meanwhile time is ticking on you 15 min car park. As if this wasn’t enough we then were charged to get out of the car park. Totally unacceptable arrangements for the disabled & nothing but a money making enterprise at the cost of customer service. Not sure how this stacks up in relation to the disability act but I will be finding out. My brother must use this airport at least 6 times every year for both himself & his family but none of us will be using Manchester again unless this system changes.

Not Verified | Manchester Airport is definitely among the worst airports I have ever experienced in my entire life. Even with Fast Track it took security staff over 40 minutes to have my luggage scanned. Staff are rude, inefficient and apparently simply don't like their job. A very grumpy employee had difficulties reading the results of a swab causing another delay as other bags simply were not scanned nor checked any more. I have no words to describe my stressful experience and am shocked to see the quality of a major British international airport. It is only for the lounge 1903 visit that I will award a 5 out of 10.

✅ Trip Verified | As a regular traveller from Manchester it fills me with dread to use this airport. On 4th September we arrived at T1 at 0730 for a Turkish airlines departure at 100.00hours. The approach to T1 was straightforward, no road works no traffic jams dead easy. Went to check in desk at 0735 and was checked in immediately and efficiently by a very pleasant gentleman. Now for the part most travellers dread, security. Our boarding passes and passports were checked and the boarding passes did not scan. No problem, the chap on the desk was laughing and joking and was very pleasant. We had fast track priority to security but did not need it as, at 0750 there was NO ONE in the security line. We walked straight to the desk where we were greeted by a very friendly and polite young lady. Passing through the scanner, I set the alarm off and was subject to a body search. The chap that carried this out was polite and apologetic about having to search me. Once searched we then went through the maze that is duty free and went to the Aspire lounge to wait for the flight. This proved to be the worst part as the toilets were not very clean and certainly needed an air freshener. Boarding the plane was painless and I still cannot believe that this happened at Manchester. On our return two weeks later, we had the normal forced march from the gate to immigration. Although another wide bodied jet had landed at the same time as us, we managed to get through immigration with just a 15 minute delay. Baggage from our flight was already on the carousel when we got to the baggage hall and when we exited the airport the sun was shining! Apart from the dirty toilets, this was the best experience I have ever had at Manchester and, being due to fly again in January from here I really hope that the experience can be repeated.

✅ Trip Verified | Another nightmare departure from Manchester Terminal 3. I've only ever had miserable, stressful experiences in the 10 or so flights I've taken this year. The queue is absolute chaos and moves at a snails pace compared to any other airport I've been to - even in countries significantly poorer than Britain. I've seen staff seem to be trying to make the queue "efficient" by shunting people into different aisles at their own whim so I've ended up seeing people who were in the queue behind me getting to the top of the queue before me. And then when they've failed to help passengers up through the queue in time for their flight, they eventually shout at those leaving on a certain flight to move up to the top of the queue. The low ceiling makes it an unpleasant experience too. The staff seem to also have been trained to be wholly unpleasant and shout continuously at those in the queue about liquids etc, trying to imply that we're to blame for the pace of the queue! A polite, electronic message would be far more tolerable when you're standing around listening to it for 45+ minutes. I've been to extremely busy airports where the staff still manage to be friendly, helpful and efficient. Dear Manchester Airport Management/Staff: - Open up all the security conveyor belts - Put more staff on the security conveyor belts (both before and checking bags coming through the Xray machine) - Stop shouting at your customers - Stop treating us like we're the enemy - Invest in your facilities and upgrade them The North deserves a whole lot better than this.

✅ Trip Verified | Absolute disgrace to have to endure the monster this airport has created to charge for dropping off and picking up. As a traveller requiring disabled assistance through inability to walk distances passengers are left at the building entrance where you then have to find without adequate signage the area where you are allowed to be picked up which is inside a lower deck car park. This works ok for drop off being near the building doors even though it charges £3 to be released from the area. The big problem when having found the pickup area is the chaos they have created in the fact that everyone is oblivious to the system, where I witnessed others scrambling to meet their collectors even to the point of a adult and child being hit with the entrance barriers trying to get in the cars there as the is inadequate area's to stop. Whoever is collecting you has a ticket which has to be paid for at a machine away from the exit barriers again nowhere for them to park to be able to pay along with no signage instruction that you cannot pay at the exit barrier, which should be displayed at the entry barrier. One day there will be accidents to pedestrians and the airport and council of Manchester will only have themselves to blame for having to pay compensations for their shortsighted penny pinching ideas. From now on I will not use Manchester and will travel a little further to Liverpool where at least they have some common sense in running facilities for drop off and pickup even though they too charge but a lot cheaper and far better organised.

✅ Trip Verified | Now where do I begin. Meet & Greet. Went on holiday 5th-20th April. 15 days. Cost £79. Went on holiday 1st-16th September. 15 days. Quote from Meet & Greet £109. Didn't use the service, increase of 35%. Terminal 2. Don't use the Cabin bar, £6.50 for a can of cold Guinness, 500mls to be exact. Sent it back. Back to 1st September, Saturday. Check in no problem. Going through security there are 10 machines to scan baggage, belongings and people, only 4 in use, queues that go on forever. The airport say it's people's bags that are the issue, it's more likely that they are skimping on laying on more staff to keep costs down. This airport which used to be a pleasure to use, is now the worst I ever go to. On our return there is no modern air tube to get the passengers off, no Manchester Airport are spending a billion pounds for renovation and improvements, what a joke. We descended the steps into the rain and then bus just like Ryanair! All class, 2nd class is Manchester Airport, it's appalling. We get to border control in a throng of bodies, nobody directing UK or EC nationals or Non EC Nationals, when we do see a presence of Border Force, a young lady about 4'10" in height, as quiet as a church mouse. And to the coup de resistance, the baggage reclaim. The slowest I've ever known it. Again probably understaffed to save some pounds. An appalling airport. Who is to blame for this 2018 debacle, undoubtably the Management who haven't got a damn clue. How do they keep their jobs? And then to my taxi waiting outside in the car park for me, £6.50 he had to pay, all because the baggage reclaim took forever. This Airport should taken over by somebody or some company that puts its customers first instead of blatant profiteering.

✅ Trip Verified | Stayed overnight at the airport due to a train strike in a hotel which was not the airports fault. Got dropped off by a shuttle bus and walked into the terminal 2. No big lines for check in and security was fast for us due to us purchasing fast pass. However we tried to access a lounge via my membership and at 2 of the lounges were told they were full and we should have pre-reserved. Not good I was going to pay for my wife to come in with me. So we had to go find a place to eat and get some food which we did downstairs at the spinning wheel. Food was ok but a little overpriced the lounge would have worked out better value for us. Manchester airport needs to do something about the size of its lounges as if paying customers can not access them then there is lost revenue there for the airport. On arrival back was very surprised got though immigration in 2 mins and had to wait for our bags. Collected the bags and headed for the station again to find out yet another train strike which was the train companies problem not the airports. My main gripe which Manchester Airport is its overcrowded and growing too fast for so is unable to keep up with the number of passengers using it.