Manchester Airport History
Voted European Airport of the Year in 2001, Manchester Airport is the UK's busiest airport outside of London, and its forth busiest including London (after Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted).
Unlike the three larger UK airports, it is not run by the British Airports Authority (BAA), but it is independently managed by Manchester Airport PLC, and owned by all 10 Metropolitan Boroughs which make up Greater Manchester. It is proud of its independent status, which is reflected in its mission to become 'the Best World Airport'.
History
Barton, five miles west of the city, was Manchester's first choice airport and in 1929 the first municipal airfield in the UK to be licensed by the Air Ministry. Despite its convenient location, however, Barton had a problem. After heavy rain it became severely waterlogged, services were disrupted and eventually it was clear that it was not the right choice.
The Manchester Corporation looked to the south west of the city, where the aircraft manufacturer Fairey Aviation had set up a factory in 1934. The small airfield there was transformed into a commercial airport in the space of four years, but it was as a military base that Ringway was to make its mark.
The wartime years from 1940 to 1945 saw 600,000 troops of Britain's Airborne forces training there as glider pilots and parachutists. With another prominent plane maker AV Roe setting up alongside Fairey some of the most famous military aircraft of the conflict were manufactured next to the airport, and it was there that the prototype of the Lancaster bomber made its first flight.
With peacetime came opportunities for civil expansion, and in 1949 part of the old Parachute School was converted into a terminal to handle an increasing number of passengers. Two years later the runway was lengthened but it was the 1960's that brought a major step forward. An imposing terminal building with air traffic control facilities and two passenger piers was added. That development launched two decades of growing traffic and new facilities which included a third pier, a new departure hall and a longer runway.
In the 1980s the airport was designated an International Gateway handling direct long-haul international flights. The airport responded to its new international label with an ongoing investment programme directed not only at passenger traffic but as a major cargo handler.
A second international passenger terminal and direct rail and motorway links have made the airport increasingly accessible to a wide catchment area. Approval to build a second runway, gained against much local opposition, further enhanced the airport's potential, and the airport now has a third terminal.
Plans to further increase the airport's passenger numbers and facilities have been launched in the airport's masterplan, covering the years to 2030. This would see passenger numbers more than double.
