Terminal 1 at Manchester Airport has now completely closed.<\/p>\n
As part of a 10-year, \u00a31.3bn investment programme, Terminal 2 has been transformed into a new facility that has more than doubled in size and now handles more than 75% of all passengers using the UK\u2019s global gateway in the North.<\/p>\n
Terminal 1 \u2013 which first opened in 1962 and is connected in certain places to Terminal 3 \u2013 can now fully close.<\/p>\n
Terminal 3 is now solely dedicated to the Irish budget airline Ryanair, run by outspoken entrepreneur Michael O’Leary, and is undergoing a revamp of its own, with work to expand it into space vacated through the closure of Terminal 1 well underway. This includes adding new seats, a new bar called Sporting Chance that will open later this month and a new Italian restaurant.<\/p>\n
Manchester Airport has suffered a number of reputational blows in recent years, with the consumer organisation Which? publishing dire customer survey results. Though Manchester Airport vigorously pushes back on Which?’s methodology, for the third-year running Terminal 3, had a dismal customer score of just 37 per cent, with just a one star for seating, staff, queues at security, range of shops and prices in shops, and managed no higher than two stars in any of the remaining categories, including for toilets.<\/p>\n
Terminal 1 hasn’t scored much better.<\/p>\n
However, Terminal 2 performs better and is clearly the jewel in the airport’s crown, as it continues to expand and break new records for passenger usage.<\/p>\n
Last year the airport served a record 32m passengers and the records are continuing to fall this year with last month being the airport\u2019s busiest February on record. Just over 2.05m passengers flew into or out of Manchester Airport in February, up 2.3% on the same month in 2025.<\/p>\n
As part of the redesign, more than 2,000 signs have now been changed, formally signalling an end to Terminal 1’s 64-year lifespan. Managing Director Chris Woodroofe marked the milestone by wielding a ceremonial padlock.<\/p>\n
Woodroofe said: \u201cWhile this is the end of an era for Terminal 1, it\u2019s really the start of a whole new chapter for Manchester Airport.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re proud to connect the North to the world and our \u00a31.3bn investment in Terminal 2 means that we\u2019re now bigger and better than ever \u2013 serving our passengers in a setting that rivals any airport Terminal across Europe.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s also allowing us to continue our growth and operate more flights to more destinations every single day.\u00a0 And we’ve achieved this at the same as making things more simple and straightforward for our passengers.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll you have to remember now is that if you’re flying with Ryanair you\u2019ll be flying form Terminal 3 and if you\u2019re flying with anyone else, you’re going from Terminal 2.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe talk a lot about the changes in Terminal 2 because what we\u2019ve done there is amazing, but the changes in Terminal 3 will go far beyond changing the sign on the front door \u2013 although with over 2,000 signs to change that was quite a job!<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we\u2019re also doing is expanding and improving Terminal 3 by repurposing space in what was Terminal 1, so even though we\u2019ve moved a number of airlines out, we\u2019re still making Terminal 3 bigger and better.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo as we move towards what will be another record-breaking year for us, I\u2019m looking forward to welcoming passengers and hearing about their experiences of our new bigger, better and simpler operation.\u201d<\/p>\n
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All flights now go from Terminal 2, unless you’re flying with Ryanair<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":264565,"featured_media":2168948,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[120782,47996],"coauthors":[116163],"class_list":["post-2168945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-transport","tag-featured-story","tag-greater-manchester"],"yoast_head":"\n