Manchester Airport

✅ Verified Review | On departure the Jet2 dedicated security was overloaded and only 2 belts open. Took 45 minutes to get through. Luckily we had left plenty of time. On return the passport check was a nightmare. They have installed new machines to replace the "human" factor. These are supposed to check the passport photo against your face. There were still two humans to check those where it could not work. There were hundreds going to the non-machine posts. I managed to get through but my wife hadn't. I went ahead collected all our baggage and stood for 15 minutes waiting for my wife. According to the local press some people took one and a half hours to get through. I am travelling again in a few weeks and not looking forward to the experience.

✅ Verified Review | Terminal 3 at Manchester must rank among the worst airport experiences in Europe. Arriving at T3 is chaotic, with a lack of investment in border control and immigration staff, passengers are arriving from two directions and you can easily spend 30 minutes waiting to get through. But when it comes to departures this terminal has really hit rock bottom. I flew out on early afternoon Sunday 27th November, it should have been a relatively quiet time to pass through security but given the complete incompetence of the staff and management in the security hall they manage to turn what should be a 15 minute experience into a 45 minute nightmare. They are actually having to employ staff to pick passengers out of the queue as so many are in danger of missing their flights! There are countless reviews condemning the management of the facility, do they listen - no, it just seems to get worse and worse. My bag was pulled out for a hand search - 1½ staff members seemed to be dealing with our x-ray machine, it took 30 minutes to search a bag and all they wanted to do was swab it! The supervisor was arrogant and content to blame the passengers for all the problems! Didn’t seem to think that the lack of staff or the lack of open x-ray machines had anything to do with it. Where do they find these people? If you have the misfortune to have to travel through T3 make sure that you allow at least an hour to get through security. Having passed through six airports in the last couple of months this is really the pits. My advice fly from Liverpool, Leeds or East Midlands rather than experience the horror of T3.

✅ Verified Review | Generally the airport is good for departures however it is the arrival and return through customs which is awful. 12 years ago I want to Cuba and I was greeted by stern faced security and not a smile or welcoming gesture anywhere. This is the experience of Manchester Airport every time I go through the arrivals process. Herded like cattle. No one to explain or apologise for long long lines of waiting customers to this airport. I have seen the flat walking escalator deposit people into the back of an existing queue with people piling up on top of each other. The escalator was stopped by a passenger pressing the emergency stop. No apology for injuries no representative there? The border control staff they really need to consider other employment because they are most miserable group of people I have ever met. You would think that they controlling a border on foot in the cold and rain not sitting at a nice warm desk. How any person not used to this experience (especially foreign nationals) must feel when they arrive at Manchester is imaginable. The most imperfect end to a trip abroad. Recommended to remove any trace of an enjoyable holiday. If this airport was a shop it would be empty. Customer service training should be high priority.

Probably the worst experience I have had in airport security - and I travel a lot. Worse than that, I was escorting a group of Europeans who were subject to the same treatment. We were warned about the queues but were delighted that there were none. However we subject to rude and arrogant behaviour by the staff there and one lady in particular seriously needs to consider an alternative career. Manchester airport could learn a lot from Heathrow. I too will be avoiding this airport - I am travelling to Manchester again next week but will be taking the train.

Absolutely horrified by the long waiting lines in front of the security check at Manchester Airport. Don't get me wrong, I think security is very important and I used to fly to and from TLV so i'm used to tough security checks, but what happened here is a complete joke. I seperated my liquids from my bag and put it in an extra tray together with my jacket. After clearing the control I see my bag coming out and the tray with my seperated liquids beeing put on the line for the extra checks. I was nervous, since it was 40 minutes to departure (I had waited one hour in line already). After 10 minutes and the staff chatting with a passenger who seemed to have lots of time I asked if I could have my tray checked, since i'm afraid to miss my plane. Of course thats not possible, one by one. 15 more minutes later my tray gets picked up and I report to the lady that will check it. Apparently the hood of my jacket fell over the seperated bag of liquids I had in the tray, and that seems to be a big no no in MAN. No one told me I shouldn't put anything above the liquids. This has never happened at any other airport, staff working very slowly and chatting the whole time. The airport itself is fine, but the situation at security is really unberable. In the end I didn't miss the plane but still very stressful. Will try to avoid this airport from now on.

T3 shows the signs of a small airport that has grown so much it's not fit for purpose. With low ceilings and a maize of corridors it's not the nicest environment. 17.00 on a Tuesday security was fast and efficient but the limited food establishments were totally full, the very limted seating was totally in the main area and people were sitting on floors. Would never travel through here by choice - the lack of investment really showed when comparing T3 to the single terminal at Edinburgh which is bright, modern and spacious. I pity anyone who has to be here any length of time.

Terminal 1 departures at Manchester Airport yesterday evening was one of my my worst ever airport exeriences. The security queues are endless - happily we were well ahead of our departure time - if not you may actually miss your flight. The main problem and source of queuing is the hand luggage scanning - every second bag is pulled over for an addtional inspection. Staff are hardly proactive in handling the numerous passengers waiting to recollect bags after a second intrusive search. Chatting amongst themselves rather than dealing efficiently with the huge backlog. We're talking about bags and content which had already passed several security checks via other airports - without any problems - Well not in MAN it seems. So if you can't avoid this place completely then at least get there early and know in advance that you will be herded like cattle and will feel like a criminal as staff go through your bags in great detail and perform swab test your hands, clothes etc. It might be worth paying for checked in luggage to avoid this excuse for service. In many years of traveling airports worldwide I've never seen anything quite this bad.

Majority of staff at Manchester Airport are absolutely awful. If there was another choice of airport locally this airport would close within 6 months. Most of the staff are rude, uninterested and are not embarrassed about showing their contempt and disrespect to travellers. I believe a new terminal is to be built, what a waste of money. A better plan would be to retrain or replace the staff first then look at the buildings. Manchester airport is lucky it hasn't any local competition and should never expand till it's root problems are solved.

Check in with Jet2 and security was a breeze at Manchester Airport. We had paid extra for the Escape lounge only to find that it wasn't as advertised and the better quality food was chargeable. Complete waste of money. On return from our untroubled holiday with Jet2 we then had to wait for over an hour for our luggage to come off the plane. There was no rep around to let us know what the delay was and we were just expected to wait by the carousel. Manchester airport is terrible for baggage delivery - it takes forever every time I come through. If I could use a different airport I would. A massive dampener on the end of your hard earned holiday.

✅ Verified Review | Truly awful experience. Having entered security on 3/11/16 at 07.00, I placed my possessions in the plastic trays for X-Ray processing as required, went through the body scanner and emerged to find my travel documents had disappeared in the 30 seconds since I'd last seen them. Upon querying this with the nonplussed security officials I was met with disinterest and disbelief. They thought I had lost them and initially refused to lift a finger to assist me. Obviously without these documents (passport and boarding pass) I was going nowhere. I was extremely worried. A search was made of the X-ray scanner equipment to see if they'd somehow dropped out, and the plastic trays were searched, but given the chaotic scenes it was difficult to get anything done. I was further searched to see if my documents were about my person, despite insisting that I'd put them through the scanner. My brand new RFID tag (metal) passport wasn't visible on the recorded X-ray machine images (why not?) - and this further led them to believe that I had simply "lost" them. I was searched (again) and two beach bats were confiscated from my hand baggage - just to add insult to injury. How many times do you need to be searched at Manchester? They'd already been cleared by X-ray. Eventually they deigned to examine the CCTV footage and this took some time. I persuaded my partner to leave for departures in the meantime in the belief that he would have to leave alone if my documents weren't found in time - this was particularly distressing. After around 40 minutes, and with only around 10 minutes before final boarding, the security officials declared that they believed the passenger in front of me had taken them, probably in error. They ran to departures and got Ryan air to hold the flight. They located the passenger with my documents - his own being in his hand baggage - and yes, benefit of doubt, he had probably picked them up in error in the confusion that is evident around this appalling, cattle market of a security area. I was repatriated with them with seconds to spare before the departure gates closed. A truly awful start to the holiday and it should never have happened. It shouldn't be possible that this can occur in this high security area and to confiscate my personal goods after I was searched really grieved me. I honestly thought the experience was a disgrace. However my thanks to security official Paul Schofield who did his level best to assist and I have to thank him for interrogating the CCTV and establishing the actual circumstances, then locating the errant passenger with my documents. Well done Paul, but my view of Manchester airport is forever sullied.