Manchester Airport

Manchester Airport, formerly known as Ringway Airport, was officially opened on June 25th, 1938. It has grown to become the fourth busiest airport in the UK and the second busiest airport in the UK outside of London.

The airport is owned and managed by the Manchester Airport Group (MAG), which is a holding company owned by the ten metropolitan borough councils of Greater Manchester.

Manchester Airport has been recognised for its exceptional quality. It was awarded the title of “World’s Best Airport” in 1995 by the IATA Airport Monitor Survey. In 2008, Travel Weekly awarded Manchester Airport as “The Best Regional Airport” for the UK. Since 1990, the airport has received over 78 awards recognizing its quality, facilities and services.

As a major hub for international travel, Manchester Airport is presently undergoing the process of expansion. In 2008, 21.8 million passengers used the airport, government officials forecast that these numbers will increase to 38 million by 2015.

To accommodate this increased number of passengers, a third runway has been planned to accompany the two presently utilised commercial runways. This plan has met some opposition from protest groups who feel the expansion will destroy natural wildlife habitats. Despite these protests, plans for develop have been continuing at the present time.

In addition to being a transportation hub, Manchester Airport is one of North-West England’s top 10 public attractions. Roughly 250,000 visitors come to airport each year to the airport’s official “Aviation Viewing Park” which displays a large variety of historic commercial airplanes. The Aviation Viewing Park also has a café and a shop which sells aviation-relation items.