Manchester Airport

The airport employees including security were all very nice and made the airport experience tolerable. However, to get from security to my plane we are forced to walk through a stinky perfume mall/maze. It was worse than any perfume area in any mall you've ever been to. I think something should be done so travelers aren't forced to be subjected to that if they don't want to be.

The first Airport I have ever experienced that has no rental car returns signs anywhere until you are nearly at the car rental. The first signs are only Terminal 1 or Terminals 2 & 3. How exactly is someone supposed to work out where to go without stopping at Terminal 1 and getting out to ask someone. I was told to follow signs for Terminal 3, when you are in a hurry and very short of time this kind of stress is something I could have done without, absolutely unbelievable. Security checks painfully slow, and immigration also painfully slow. I think I will avoid Manchester in future.

Had to pick a colleague up from the airport, total rip off. Very few spaces available and for those that were I had to pay an extortionate £3.50 for 10 minutes. Utter joke, no wonder it gets such poor reviews, all about robbing the public to line their own pockets. If you're picking someone up, tell them to take the metrolink to the first stop and meet them there.

This airport is shocking. We checked in for our flight three hous before departure with the intention of relaxing with a drink and doing a bit of last minute shopping before leaving after a month on holiday through Europe and the UK, however we spent the entire time in one queue or another. The security line was so long and as other revies have mentioned full of staff shouting at passengers like they were naughty children. This airport is a disgrace, and the staff we encountered were rude and unprofessional, all the other airports we encountered face the same issues with security and seem to manage much better. The layout doe not help and the airport is badly planned and managed. After all our standing in queues we had time to use the bathroom, which was filthy, and go to the gate I will avoid Manchester in the future, we won't be back.

✅ Verified Review | Departure at Jet 2 was grim! What is the problem with the security staff? On arrival, stand 21 at T1, passengers were unable to disembark, understand arriving and departing passengers can not mix but you knew this in advance! We had to wait for passengers that had been put on bus's to board our inbound aircraft to be taken off them before we could get on them. Poor all round, especially having already been delayed.

✅ Verified Review | Since December 2016 and the introduction at Terminal 2 of body scanners as part of security this process has become more arduous and intrusive than ever. I accept the need for proper security measures but the intrusive way in which they are now carried out is an infringement of personal liberty. On two occasions since then my wife and I have passed through this terminal and the body scanners and then for unexplained reasons been searched in such a way that it amounts to intrusion. If the body scanners are working properly there should be no need for a further full body search and certainly without a basic level of courtesy. The body scanners are clearly causing chaos and long queues which then results in large numbers of passengers being diverted through the original scanners which rather defeats the object. What would be far more sensible is if passengers went through the basic scanner first and then if anything was detected be asked to use the body scanner. Unfortunately, like professionalism, common sense seems to have deserted the staff and management at this airport. Even when you complain there and then or to the head office the response is always negative and one is made to feel as if you have no rights and no justification for complaining. Indeed when complaining to the CEO you are lucky if you get an acknowledgement without having to send at least one reminder - there is no point going to customer services since they never respond. The staff on duty at security are often rude and I have observed on many occasions that they behave unprofessionally. Little wonder that this is carried over to the attitude to passengers. Moreover the managers on duty are generally standing about by the desk at the end of the conveyor system where baggage is scanned taking no interest in what is happening at the entry point of security or how the staff are behaving. One last point, don't bother purchasing the fast-track vouchers. The access is often combined with Priority queue in which passengers with children are automatically herded and it can take longer to transit than just going trough the normal channels. In short this airport is a disgrace and without doubt the worst we have ever used. Avoid it if you can.

✅ Verified Review | I frequently fly from Manchester airport and I am disappointed every single time. In the beginning I thought it might improve since there has been construction work going on for a while now, but it definitely does not improve, it gets worse. I don't know how a person who has trouble walking would ever be able to fly from this airport since there is always at least one flight of steep stairs involved where ever you go. I always struggle with just my little hand luggage suitcase to get up and down those stairs. Security mostly takes at least 45 minutes, because there will only be 2 or 3 security lanes open for all flights leaving the terminal. People are always very helpful to be fair to the staff at the airport, but the layout of the airport is an absolute disaster and not handled well are all.

Not a particularly good experience! Lots of queing and waiting around outside and delays. I know these sometimes can't be helped but staff seemed stressed and stressed out passengers aswell. Really not impressed. Wouldn't fly with again unless last option.

✅ Verified Review | Awful at terminal 3. Security checks took an age, even with a fast pass. It seems as if the people running the security lines haven't a clue what they're doing. Just a shameful experience, the folks on the continent or in the USA do it all so much more efficiently and dare I say pleasantly. The entry back into the UK (our own country) was shambolic, with long, long lines at passport control. Only 3 desks being manned by bored, listless border control officers who looked like they were dead from the neck up. Eventually more desks were open, but it took far too long to get through this mind numbing process. They simply have to do better! I know public sector workers aren't renowned for their speed and efficiency, but these uniformed idiots need a rocket up their respective you know what. Lucky we had a 15 year old with us, as the queues for the electronic barriers were far worse than the manned desks.

Going out to Innsbruck there was supposedly extra security which at 6.00am took 1.5 hours of queuing. It took so long because they failed to man it and were using the time of thousands of passengers instead. On the return, we entered the customs hall and were directed by an airport employee to use only the biometric re entry procedure. When I said no, he lied and said no customs officer was available at the manned desks. After saying I would wait, he immediately opened a lane and I walked to the desk were a customs officer had been waiting all the time. I have used the airport 5 times over the last 12 months and on every occasion we have been treated as farm animals and not the customer who pays their wages.