Manchester Airport Guide

Manchester Airport sits 14.6 km south-west of Manchester city centre in Ringway, serving the Greater Manchester conurbation and a broad catchment that extends to Yorkshire, the North West, and North Wales. It is the UK's third-busiest airport and the busiest outside London, handling 30.8 million passengers in 2024 across two active passenger terminals.

The airport opened on 25 June 1938 and has grown into one of Europe's significant long-haul gateways outside the capital. A £1.3 billion redevelopment completed in 2025 transformed Terminal 2 into a major hub now used by approximately 75% of passengers, including all long-haul carriers. Ryanair operates from Terminal 3 following Terminal 1's closure in late 2025. The airport has two parallel runways and connects passengers to 199 destinations worldwide.

Manchester Airports Group (MAG), owned by the ten Greater Manchester metropolitan borough councils, operates the airport. The airport has direct rail access via the Metrolink tram network and a dedicated rail station served by TransPennine Express and Northern services, giving it one of the strongest public transport connections of any UK regional airport.