Speaking today, Ryanair s Bridget Dowling said:

This new route to Frankfurt will operate 4 times a week will allow an additional 60,000 passengers per annum to enjoy Ryanair s guaranteed lowest fares from Manchester.

To celebrate this new route, Ryanair is giving away seats to Frankfurt Hahn for just £10 including taxes and charges, and we advise passengers to log onto www.ryanair.com immediately, because this offer must end at midnight on Thursday.

Ends.

Flybe are offering all passengers the chance to re-book for free.

Brussels Airlines via Brussels

SWISS via Zurich

Lufthansa via Frankfurt and Munich

Air France via Paris

KLM via Amsterdam

Finnair via Helsinki

SAS via Copenhagen

Useful Information
Please note you will need a visa to enter Moscow.

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Humberside Airport has maintained annual passenger volumes of approximately 500,000 during a period of intense competition and has broadened its aviation activities to include scheduled and charter passenger services, freight, North Sea gas rig services, aircraft maintenance, pilot training and a variety of other specialised niches.

MAG now believes that in order to secure the best long-term future for Humberside Airport that all options, including a possible transfer of ownership, should be considered.

This would allow MAG to concentrate on its strategy of maximising the growth opportunities offered by the larger Manchester, East Midlands and Bournemouth Airports.

Employees at Humberside Airport and North Lincolnshire Council, the airport s minority shareholder were informed of the Group s decision today by MAG Chief Executive, Geoff Muirhead CBE.

Simon Driver, Chief Executive of North Lincolnshire Council said of the decision:"North Lincolnshire Council welcomes the long-term relationship with Manchester Airports Group and recognises that now is the time to look to the future. We will build on the success of the airport for the benefit of North Lincolnshire and the wider region.
"The airport has real potential and the council, as a shareholder, will look to maximise the development of the airport in the future. The council has maintained its shareholding in the airport since 1996.
"In light of the news from Manchester Airports Group, the council now needs to consider its position. It is inappropriate to comment further at this stage."

Commenting on the move, Geoff Muirhead CBE said: Humberside Airport is a solid business but the attention needed to maximise its full potential may not fit easily with the Group s emerging strategy.

The Humberside Airport team has done a fantastic job retaining and attracting airlines and maintaining stable passenger numbers, particularly during the last few years when competition has increased significantly.

Since purchasing its majority stake in Humberside Airport in 1999 for £10 million, MAG has invested nearly £7 million in capital expenditure to improve and develop the airport infrastructure.

Routes currently served from Humberside Airport include Air France/KLM s worldwide hub at Amsterdam, many of the popular holiday destinations in Europe, the Canaries, Lapland, the Channel Islands and domestic services to Scotland.

Humberside Airport has a core catchment area of over 1 million people within 45 minutes driving time and serves the major towns and cities of Hull, Grimsby/Cleethorpes, Scunthorpe and Lincoln.

MAG s other three airports, Manchester, East Midlands and Bournemouth, together handle around 28 million passengers every year and are unique within their catchment area in terms of destinations, airlines, facilities and proximity to the main surface transport infrastructure.

The review and any future decisions about MAG s stake in Humberside Airport are expected to be completed by the end of 2008.

- ENDS -

A bus service will operate from Terminal 1 to Terminal 3 and The Station from this date and will be prominently signposted as will an external walking route.

Not only have the companies rolled a new £15m road-over-rail bridge at the airport into place two days ahead of schedule, but have also reopened a main road into the airport five days early. Outwood Lane, which leads to and from Terminals 1 and 3 opened on February 27 instead of March 3.

The concrete bridge has been built alongside the existing station at the airport and is a crucial milestone in the programme to build a third platform.
It is hoped the bridge will relieve congestion and improve operational flexibility, leading to better punctuality and reliability of trains.

Peter Strachan, route director for Network Rail, said: "Completing this section of the project five days early means no more delays to passengers travelling by road to and from the airport. Careful project planning and close liaison between us and our contractor has paid dividends."
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Bob Longworth, capacity planning manager at the Airport, said: "The third rail platform will play a significant role in the future of Manchester Airport's overall transport infrastructure and this essential work has been carried out speedily and effectively. "We are very pleased to be able to open Outwood Lane early causing our passengers the minimum amount of disruption as they travel to and from the airport." David Cochrane, from GMPTE's Infrastructure Projects, added: "This is fantastic news and reflection of how well the project is being managed by the Network Rail team on behalf of the funders and stakeholders."

Outwood Lane passes over the ends of the station platforms so an additional bridge section had to be constructed to take the road over the new platform.
The new bridge, shaped like an upside down U, was built using poured concrete, then raised up on a 64-wheeled transporter before being rolled into place.
Having successfully completed the roll, the area around the new structure was filled, allowing the road to be resurfaced and reopened.

The new route to Lisbon will start with a two times a week service operating from Manchester on Tuesday and Sunday. bmibaby is the only airline flying to the vibrant Portugese capital city from the airport and services commence on 17th June 2008. Fares start from just £24.99 one way, including taxes and charges.

bmibaby will also introduce a new service to Madrid, another route that is currently not served from the airport. Flights will operate on a Monday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday and services commence on the 16th June 2008. Fares start from just £24.99 one way including taxes and charges.

The introduction of the new four times a week service to Barcelona will operate on Monday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Services commence on 8th September 2008. Fares start from just £24.99 one way including taxes and charges.

bmibaby currently operate a daily service from Manchester to Ireland West Knock and will add an additional service to the schedule on Sunday, taking the total number of weekly flights to and from the airport to 16. Fares start from just £18.99 one way including taxes and charges.

Crawford Rix, managing director, bmibaby, said:

"I am pleased that bmibaby will offer two brand new destinations from Manchester to Lisbon and Madrid, both routes are currently not served from the airport. Plus we are adding in a new four times a week service to Barcelona, great news for those looking for an exciting break at low fares.

"The introduction of two flights a week to Lisbon, the capital of Portugal will offer the traveller a chance to visit a fascinating historical city and provide a gateway to many hidden gems and undiscovered areas of Portugal. To continue the capital city theme, our new four flights a week to Madrid, a culturally rich destination will delight many with its cosmopolitan charm.

"We have also ramped up the number of flights to Ireland West Knock with the addition of an extra service on Sunday. This will offer business and leisure travellers even more flexibility and choice from their local airport with 16 flights a week to and from the airport.

"bmibaby is continually looking to offer even more attractive destinations from Manchester Airport to add to the existing 14 great places that we currently fly to. Plus we are committed to offering low fares. Prices start from just £18.99 one way including taxes and charges."

Tim McDermott, Manchester Airport's Director of Aviation Development, said of the new routes:

"bmibaby is a dynamic, award winning airline that offers passengers a range of flights at excellent prices and we are delighted to see the start of two exciting new routes to Lisbon and Madrid. With bmibaby now offering flights to Barcelona and increasing the frequency of flights to Ireland West Knock this will allow passengers a great range of choice.

"Manchester Airport now offers 226 destinations worldwide - more than any other UK Airport - and these latest new routes are yet more additions to our exciting schedule."

For summer 2008 bmibaby will fly from Manchester Airport to: Alicante, Barcelona, Belfast (Intl), Bordeaux, Cork, Ireland West Knock, Jersey, Lisbon, Madrid, Malaga, Newquay, Palma, Perpignan and Prague. Fares start from just £18.99 one way including taxes and charges.

The UK regional airline, which reintroduced services to Stansted after Air Berlin withdrew from the route in October 2007, will increase flights from three to four each week day from 7 April 2008. Greater convenience and choice will appeal to business commuters.

The new schedule will see weekday departures leaving Manchester at 7.15am, 11.05am, 2.20pm and 5.50pm, arriving in Stansted at 8.10am, 12 noon, 3.15pm and 6.45pm. From Stansted, flights depart at 8.45am, 12.30pm, 4pm and 7.20pm, landing in Manchester at 9.50am, 1.40pm, 5.05pm and 8.25pm.

To coincide with the additional frequency, the independent carrier, which is one of the UK s most punctual scheduled airlines*, has also introduced lower great value one way fares to the route starting from £49 including taxes, fees and charges.

Chris Holliday, Eastern Airways chief operating officer said: We are further enhancing our business schedules, offering north of England commuters greater choice, convenience and flexibility to help them make the best use of day trips. Along with these additional services we have introduced great value one way fares on the route, which will also appeal to those travelling for leisure purposes."

We welcome Eastern Airways decision to further expand the Stansted service from Manchester, said Aidan Mooney, Manchester Airport s head of network development. This latest announcement is excellent news for north west companies with business links and it further enhances our network of domestic services as we continue to provide travellers with a truly comprehensive range of world wide destinations from Manchester.

With up to 20 flights a week from Manchester to Stansted, the service is aimed at both business and leisure travellers heading for Cambridgeshire, Essex, Suffolk and Hertfordshire.

All customers travelling with Eastern Airways can utilise a dedicated fast track security channel at Stansted to avoid queues and, the airline does not charge for hold baggage. Onboard, all passengers have a choice of seat and are offered complimentary drinks and snacks, including champagne.

Eastern Airways has been operating high frequency scheduled services from Manchester for eight years and also flies from the airport to Inverness.

Geoff Muirhead CBE, Chief Executive of the Manchester Airports Group said: We are delighted to be supporting the FINA World Swimming Championships in 2008.

More than 650 of the world s premier athletes from 120 different countries will be arriving in the city many through Manchester Airport, not to mention all their supporters, so we are proud to be able to give them the warm Mancunian welcome they deserve.

The eyes of the world will be on Manchester for the five day event which will be the first world swimming championship of its kind ever to be staged in the UK. The MEN Arena will be the venue for the event and allow the use of dramatic lighting and sound effects.

Marc Hope, Director of Rights Marketing said: I m please to welcome Manchester Airport to the growing sponsor family.

And Head of PR for the event, five times world swimming champion and Mancunian James Hickman said: It s fantastic news that Manchester Airport are on board as it will enable us to offer a warm and friendly welcome to the elite athletes and dignitaries attending the event.

It will also help us to create a fantastic atmosphere throughout the city and beyond so all our visitors to the airport will feel they re part of a very special world-class Manchester Event. It will be an incredible experience.

For more information on tickets go to www.manchester2008.com/tickets

The event will see 20 airport-based employers on the site, including Servisair, Menzies, OCS and retailers such as Giraffe, SSP and La Senza.

Manchester Airports Group will also be represented at the event, along with Ryanair, which recently announced will begin flying from the airport.

Support agencies will be on hand to offer advice about childcare, transport and benefits, while the Airport Academy will also have a stall. For more information, please telephone the Jobcentreplus on 0161 253 2579.

Manchester Airport has launched a new valet parking service providing fast and convenient access to both terminals 1 and 3.

Customers are now able to pull up in a dedicated VIP enclosure outside Terminal 1 and drop their car keys to a team of specially trained valet parkers before jetting off on holiday or business.

The valets then park the cars in a safe and secure, ParkMark awarded car park and then at the end of a customer s trip return the car to the VIP area ready for collection.

The valet parking service will cost around £7 per day so parking for a week s holiday will cost £56 less than the £66 average taxi fare to and from Manchester Airport.

The move is part of Manchester Airport s drive to further improve customer experience and cut kiss and fly trips to the airport where friends and family or even taxis make four journeys to and from the airport dropping off and collecting passengers.

Director of Car Parks, Andy Cliffe explained: We re really proud of this first valet parking service provided by Manchester Airport. We want to offer our customers choices that make the journey easy and this service is ideal for customers who want the ultimate convenience at great value for money.

We are also very committed to reducing the number of car journeys to and from the airport. Obviously the best environmental solution is for people to come to the airport by public transport but not everyone is able to or wants to travel by bus, train or tram. The next best option is to just make one return journey to the airport and that means providing car parking here at the airport.

There are already lots of car parking alternatives ranging from Shuttle Park to the Short Stay Multi Storey car parks and this new valet parking services adds another option.

The service can be booked through www.manchesterairport.co.uk website or by phone.

The now retired supersonic aircraft, which was the pride of the British Airways fleet and has been on display at Manchester Airport since 2003, is to get a new home designed to protect her from the elements and boost visitor numbers.

Work is due to start on the £1.1 million, 68 metre by 38 metre, glass, steel and high tech PVC structure early in Spring and is due to be completed and open to the public by the end of July.

Concorde G-BOAC is the central attraction in the 250,000 visitor a year Aviation Viewing Park at Manchester Airport and is also a licensed wedding venue where many couples have tied the knot on board the aircraft which, when she flew, was capable of twice the speed of sound.

The new development will also include a corporate hospitality suite capable of housing up to 75 delegates, an education centre for school tours, an aviation exhibition and a glass-walled visitor restaurant alongside Concorde with views of Manchester Airport s busy runways.

Manchester Airport s Operations Director Andrew Holl said of the announcement: I m delighted that work is now going to be able to start on the hangar for this important piece of aviation history.

Concorde is very close to our hearts here at Manchester Airport and we know that her many thousands of visitors feel passionately about her care for the future. We have been working on this proposal for the last year and are all very excited that the first spade will be going in the ground in a matter of weeks.

The hangar will not only protect Concorde for future generations to enjoy but it will also provide a great day out for the thousands of people we expect to visit in the future. We re especially pleased as it will mean that visitors can come to the Viewing Park in all weathers, knowing that they can see our exhibits and runways without being exposed to the elements.

The contract for the work has been awarded to The Hurst Group and the hangar is being supplied by De Boer. The construction is still subject to final planning approval by Manchester City Council.

15 January 2008

Manchester will be de-designated so that it will be able to set its own charges.

Manchester Airports Group has expressed its delight that the Secretary of State has decided to remove the burden of price control regulation from Manchester Airport, a decision it believes recognises that, today, the best regulator is the market.

Jonathan Bailey, Group External Affairs Director said: The Secretary of State s decision is a victory for common sense and testimony to our commitment to working in partnership with our airline customers to meet their needs and those of our passengers.

The decision also allows the airport to save the millions of pounds that it has to spend on being regulated and instead invest them in improving the airport and pass the savings on to customers.

Dr Bailey added, Our extensive programme of consultation with airlines has been a key part of demonstrating to the government that we have an open business relationship with our customers that does not need to be regulated. We look forward to working with our airlines to continue to provide excellent value services to the benefit of Manchester and the wider region.

Ms Kelly said: "In making my decision on Manchester I have taken into consideration the fact that other local airports, such as Liverpool airport, offer real choice for passengers. Furthermore, there is spare capacity at Manchester and competing airports now and for the foreseeable future, even allowing for expected growth in demand. The decision to de-designate Manchester will enable the airport to grow and develop without the costs of excessive regulation falling to passengers in the future."

The Airport, which handles more than 22 million passengers a year, received the award at the prestigious ceremony held last night (January 15th) at The Grosvenor House Hotel in London.

Manchester Airport s Managing Director Andrew Cornish and Group Marketing Director Kate Harrison accepted the award on behalf of the Airport. The Airport was praised by the judges for the handling of heightened security restrictions and for its commitment to customer service.

Manchester Airport s Andrew Cornish, said of the award: We are very pleased and proud to have been presented with this award especially as it is voted for by some of the most experienced industry professionals in the travel agents.

We pride ourselves on giving the passengers the very best possible experience and it is great to see that the industry recognises that hard work and commitment.".

16 January 2008

By Summer 2008 all Manchester Airport restricted zone pass holders must be enrolled on the new staff iris system, which uses biometric technology to grant access to controlled areas. A trial of the technology at the T3 service yard where an iris recognition camera system photographs the eyes of everyone passing through and compares their unique iris to the one held on record, has proved so successful that it is being extended to include T1 and T2 service yards.

Manchester Airport s Security and Training Manager Asha Williams said: The trial of the technology has gone really well and we are now extending to include two new areas of access to the restricted zone. We re always looking for new ways to simplify and further improve the robust security screening process of both passengers and staff and by harnessing this clever technology we can achieve both those goals.

Staff using the new entry points will still continue to use and display their ID cards. They will swipe their card and enter a personal pin number before entering a booth where a specialised camera will check their iris. The iris information is held on secure access control system only operated by Manchester Airport s pass office. The information is not being shared with any other organisation, nor used for any other purposes aside from the enhancement of the security within the airport.

Manchester is the first UK airport to use the technology for staff access. The system is separate from the passenger iris system used by immigration in T1 and T2. The company behind the staff iris scheme technology is Human Recognition System, in conjunction with CEM Systems. Simon Meyer, Project Manager, explained: The system has been incredibly successful and improved the overall security screening process of staff who pass through to the restricted zone. The technology is cutting-edge but proven and we are delighted that it has proved so successful that the scheme is being rolled out across all the terminals.

The scheme is being rolled out in phases. All new and renewed pass holders are now registered for the scheme when their pass is issued. Staff using T3 service yard must be registered by February, those using T2 by March and those using T1 by May.

16 January 2008

Both Monarch Airlines and First Choice fly to Kenya from Manchester Airport. For the latest information about your flight please visit your airline website;

www.flymonarch.com or www.firstchoice.co.uk

The Airport will be one of the first in the UK to relax the restrictions on the number of hand baggage items passengers are allowed to carry following extensive investment in new security screening machines, staff training and additional security personnel.

The new rules will mean Manchester Airport passengers will be allowed to carry more than one item of hand baggage from January 7th but like passengers travelling through all other UK Airports, will still not be allowed to carry any liquids creams or gels of more than 100mls / 100gms in their hand or cabin baggage. The current restrictions on the size of hand baggage taken into the restricted area of the airport remain in place with no bag larger than 56cm x 45cm x 25cm being permitted.

Not all UK airports have changed the rules so please check carefully with other airports for return travel allowances to Manchester.

We would remind all passengers that each airline has their own policy regarding the amount of hand baggage allowed on their aircraft and we strongly recommend that information regarding this is sought directly from the Airline before travel.

At the airport
To ensure your journey is a smooth one, please ensure that you read the latest regulations about what you can and cannot take on board the aircraft.

You can also download our handy Traveller Checklist before you travel to ensure you are prepared before you get to the airport - Download

Hand baggage

Manchester Airport have lifted the 1 bag per passenger rule - more info

Liquids
Passengers will be allowed to take liquids, gels and pastes of 100mls or less in their hand baggage. These items must be contained within a small, re-sealable plastic wallet, which will have to be removed from their hand baggage and x-rayed separately.

The new rules stipulate that the plastic wallet must not exceed one litre capacity per passenger - that s around half the size of a standard A4 piece of paper and it must be sealable. The wallet can contain two or more items of less than 100mls each but must not be cluttered to allow security officers to carry out thorough checks.

Liquids include:
Water and other drinks, soups, syrups
Creams, lotions and oils
Perfumes
Sprays
Gels, including hair and shower gels
Contents of pressurised containers, including shaving foam, other foams and deodorants
Pastes, including toothpaste
Liquid-solid mixtures
Mascara
Any other item of a similar consistency

Large electrical items / Laptops
Laptops and other complex items of electrical equipment have to be removed from hand luggage and screened separately.

WHAT DOES NOT CHANGE
Passengers will continue to be allowed to pack liquids in the bags that they check-in. Passengers will also be allowed to carry in their hand luggage medicines and dietary requirements including baby foods, for use during the flight.

Please note that; you may be asked for proof that these items are needed.
Parents WILL be asked to sample baby milk and food and also those people with dietary requirements.
These also need to be in containers of 100mls or less.
Passengers will be able to buy liquids including drinks and perfumes either in an EU airport shop after security control, or on board an aircraft operated by an EU airline. If they are sold in a special sealed bag, passengers must not open them before they are screened otherwise the contents may be confiscated at the security checkpoint.

Don t Forget - Before the airport
Before you arrive at Manchester Airport, make sure you have a valid passport (and visa where necessary) for your trip.

Many authorities require a passport that s valid for at least six months from the time you fly.

If you need help and advice, visit the UK Passport website.

On domestic flights, airlines now require to see appropriate photo identity. Please check with your airline about which forms of photo identity are acceptable.

Check-In times
Please check your ticket or travel itinerary, or contact your airline for advice on check in times. Generally, check in desks open 2-3 hours before the flight is due to depart.

Pick Up Procedures
Check the latest pick up and drop off procedures at Manchester Airport.

First TransPennine Express is expanding its network to provide 14 daily services each day between Scotland and Manchester.

Four trains a day will run from Edinburgh to Manchester and three each day from Glasgow Central.

The new service is being provided as part of the changes to the cross country rail franchise and opens up new journey opportunities with a direct link into the heart of Manchester Airport, which has its own integrated station.

The end to end journey time from Edinburgh or Glasgow will be four hours or less and the trains will make intermediate calls at Carlisle and Penrith, in addition to First TransPennine Express usual calling points south of Oxenholme on route to Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Airport. Services to and from Glasgow will also call at Lockerbie.

Vernon Barker, managing director of First TransPennine Express, says: We are delighted to be able to serve Edinburgh and Glasgow with new trains and offer new journey opportunities via Manchester Airport to worldwide destinations.

John Twigg, planning and infrastructure director at Manchester Airport says: We are delighted that more towns and cities in northern Britain will now enjoy direct rail services to Manchester Airport. This will provide local people and businesses with quick and convenient access to our network of 225 worldwide destinations.

This is further proof of the success of TPE in meeting the needs of air passengers, with nearly 3 million travellers a year now using our state of the art transport interchange, and so helping to reduce road congestion and emissions.

The Runway 2 trail will take walkers through some of the 75 hectares of new woodlands and grasslands created as part of Runway 2 as well as 97 wildlife ponds, three bat barns and the new River Bollin tunnel.

The scheme is part of the extensive environmental project undertaken as part of the development work and represents a significant milestone in the six years of environmental projects since the February 2001 opening of Runway 2.

The trail circles the whole of Runway 2 and offers ramblers two different lengths of walk. It passes the site of a former Bronze Age farm discovered during excavation work for the building of Runway 2 and a newly installed willow sculpture of Concorde, which was commissioned by the Airport to mark the opening of the trail.

Manchester Airport s Environment Manager Tim Walmsley said of the trail: We have worked extremely hard on the environment around Runway 2 restoring and building new ponds for our wildlife, creating new areas of woodland and grassland and building three new barns for bats.

The new nature trail will allow people to walk all the way around Runway 2 and see many of these new landscape features as well as get some incredible views of aircraft and the airport.

And he added: We are particularly pleased with the willow sculpture of Concorde at the start of the trail which we commissioned from the Littoral Arts Trust, an arts and environmental education charity based in Rossendale. It s a really fantastic piece of work, which is about a third of the size of the real thing and has already proved to be popular with visitors to the Aviation Viewing Park.

The trail starts at Manchester Airport s Aviation Viewing Park.

The Airport is preparing to handle more than half a million passengers between Friday 21st December 2007 and Tuesday 1st January 2008.

270,000 passengers are expected to depart from Manchester Airport in just five days. Saturday 22nd December is expected to be the biggest day for travel with 58,000 passengers catching flights.

The most popular warm holiday destination for Christmas travellers from Manchester is Tenerife with Alicante and Malaga coming second and third. The most popular long haul destinations are Las Vegas and Dubai. Short breaks are dominated by Paris, Rome and Bergen in Norway.

Ryanair, Europe s largest low fares airline today (18th Dec) announced 4 new routes from Manchester to Barcelona, Bremen, Marseille and Milan. These new routes will start in April and with Ryanair s existing routes to Dublin and Shannon will deliver 600,000 passengers to / from Manchester next year, generating a visitor spend of £50m and sustaining 600 local jobs.

Today s new routes are part of Ryanair s largest ever new route expansion which sees 50 new routes for 2008, including 3 new airports, Angouleme (France), Arad and Constanta (Romania). In the UK, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Liverpool, London, Manchester and Newquay will all benefit from new route announcements today.

Speaking in Manchester, Ryanair s Director of Scheduled Revenue, Sean Coyle said;

Only Ryanair guarantees the lowest fares and today s new routes are great news for Mancunian passengers who have had to put up with British Airways high fare stranglehold for too long. We look forward to generating £60m in savings for passengers who vote with their feet for Ryanair s guaranteed lowest fares next year from Manchester.

Ryanair is and will continue to be the largest airline in the Northwest delivering 4 million passengers through Blackpool, Leeds Bradford, Liverpool and Manchester in 2008, two years before Easyjet hopes to reach the same volumes. As usual, while Easyjet talks, only Ryanair delivers. Passengers throughout the Northwest prefer Ryanair because we are the only airline to guarantee the lowest fares.

To celebrate the roll out of Ryanair s largest ever European expansion we are releasing 2 million seats across our 605 European routes for just £10/ €10. This offer must end at midnight Thursday, so we advise passengers to go straight to www.ryanair.com because these bargains will be snapped up in record time .

easyJet, the UK s biggest airline, today announces massive expansion from the North West of England, with the addition of new aircraft to its long-established base at Liverpool John Lennon Airport as well as the opening of a base at Manchester International Airport. The move will make easyJet the biggest airline operating in the North West, carrying over 4 million passengers each year.

easyJet currently operates eight aircraft from Liverpool John Lennon Airport, offering a choice of 20 routes to main city airports across Europe and carrying around 2.5 million passengers a year. By 2010, easyJet will base a total of 10 aircraft in Liverpool.

Today, easyJet also announces that it will establish a new base at Manchester. In October easyJet announced its intention to buy the British Airways franchise operator, GB Airways, which has a two-aircraft based at Manchester. easyJet intends to maintain the GB Airways operation at Manchester and will add a further three aircraft, bringing the total number of aircraft based at Manchester to five by 2010.

This means that by 2010, easyJet will have 15 aircraft operating through the two principal airports in the North West, giving it access to a catchment area of some 8 million people within a 60-minute drive. The airline will carry over 4 million passengers on roughly 40 routes each year and will employ, directly and indirectly, around 4,000 people in the region.

GB Airways will continue to operate all routes under the British Airways brand until 29 March. After this, subject to regulatory approval, the GB flights will operate under the easyJet brand and all customers who have booked to travel with GB Airways next summer will be given the choice of flying with easyJet at the same times or else receive a refund. By winter 2008, GB Airways will be fully integrated into the easyJet business model subject to regulatory clearance.

Mike Campbell, easyJet People Director, who advised the staff in Manchester of the news today, commented:

easyJet recognises the strong demand for low-cost convenient services from the North West, the GB operation at Manchester provides us with a great base on which we can build and tap in to a new market.

easyJet remains committed to our base at Liverpool John Lennon Airport and by launching additional operations from Manchester, we can make it even easier for everyone in the North West to have access to easyJet services from their local airport, giving consumers the opportunity to explore Europe for less.

- ENDS

Terminal 1 Arrivals
Manchester Airport has reopened the Forecourt Area at Terminal 1 Arrivals.
This will mean Black Cabs, Airport Buses including Long-Stay, Premier, Shuttle Car Parks, Airportcarz and authorised Courtesy Bus Pick Up will revert to the locations/designated Bus Stops used prior to July 1st 2007, which are signed accordingly.

At Terminal 2, all pick up is directed to the ground level of the multi-storey car park. Drop For drop off passengers are advised to follow the signage on route. For overheight vehicles please follow the signage to the short stay surface car park adjacent to the multi-storey car park.

At Terminal 3, all pick up is directed to the ground level of the multi-storey car park. Drop For drop off passengers are advised to follow the signage on route. For overheight vehicles please follow the signage to the short stay surface car park adjacent to the multi-storey car park.

If you are due to travel on a HCCT (Holidays) flight, also know as CT2 Travel;

You can speak to your travel agent about making a claim to the CAA or visit the ATOL website at www.atol.org.uk or contact the CAA on 028 9185 6547.

Do not go to your departure airport as all outbound flights have been cancelled.

Any passengers wishing to rebook their trip, the following airlines offer flights direct to Tenerife from Manchester;

British Airways www.ba.com
Excel Airways www.xl.com
First Choice www.firstchoice.co.uk
Jet2 www.jet2.com
Monarch www.flymonarch.com
MyTravel www.mytravel.com
Thomas Cook http://www.thomascook.com/content/flights/homepage/flights-homepage.asp
Thoms onfly www.thomsonfly.com

Customers currently abroad on holiday

The CAA will be making arrangements to ensure all customers on HCCT flights can fly home as planned.

14/12/06

From December 13th 2006, the collection of passengers from Terminal 3 will be moved into the short stay car park and people will no longer be able to pick up passengers from outside the terminal building.

This follows the success of a similar change to pick-up procedures at Terminal 1 in November of this year and is part of an overall plan by the Airport to improve traffic flow, reduce congestion and improve security close to the terminal buildings. There will be no change to passenger drop-off arrangements at Terminal 3.

Charges for parking in the short stay car parks for less than 30 minutes will be reduced by more than 20% from £2.30 to £1.80.

As part of the change, the ground floor of the short stay car park at Terminal 3 will be altered with the creation of a new passenger lobby area, a private hire collection point and additional disabled bays. The redevelopment will also see removal of dividing bollards within the car park making it easier for drivers to find spaces and their way around the area.

When the scheme was introduced in Terminal 1 it dramatically reduced congestion and cut the number of circling cars saving tonnes of unnecessary CO2 emissions. The new restrictions enforce the no-waiting regulations around Terminal 1 and have reduced the number of "go-round" drivers circling the arrivals area while they wait for friends or family. The change at Terminal 1 has reduced congestion and accident risk and saved more than 3000 car journeys a week - that's the equivalent of 47 tonnes of CO2 a year and the same as the pollution created by 15 modern, energy efficient homes.

Manchester Airport is now introducing the scheme to T3 and is optimistic that it will deliver a similar improvement. The new system will be implemented at Terminal 2 in January 2007.

The new procedure enforces the existing road regulations and bylaws of the 'no waiting'; zones outside the three terminals. Only authorised operational vehicles and permit holders will be allowed into the lanes in close proximity to the terminal buildings.

A new team of customer service staff will be on-hand to assist drivers as the procedures are introduced. Signage around the airport will be updated to ensure passengers are clearly directed to where they need to be.

Andy Cliffe, Director of Car Parks at Manchester Airport, said of the latest change: "We are focusing on reducing the congestion around the terminal buildings and improving traffic flow for safety and security reasons as well as delivering a better service to our passengers."

"The changes to Terminal 1 have proved to be extremely successful and have seen the number of unnecessary journeys dramatically reduced. This latest change to the pick-up procedures at Terminal 3 is the next step in the plan to standardise pick-up across the airport and continue to deliver the very best quality of service to our 22 million passengers a year."

14/12/06

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Manchester Airport is currently fully operational with flights leaving on time.

British Airways has cancelled nine flights from Manchester to Heathrow and flights to Gatwick and Southampton but other airlines are operating flights from Manchester to Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and London City Airport.

Passengers are reminded to check the current security restrictions before they arrive at the airport.

Hand luggage is still restricted to one item per passenger with the exception of musical instruments, which can be carried as an additional item, and liquids of under 100mls are allowed, but must be placed in a small sealable plastic bag which has to be declared to security and screened separately.

For further information about security click here

For information about flights from Manchester to London visit;

www.jet2.com
www.ba.com
www.flyvlm.com
www.flybmi.com
www.airberlin.com

12/12/06

The Airport is preparing to handle more than 150,000 passengers in just three days on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday before Christmas (Dec 22nd, 23rd and 24th). An average of 270 flights will depart from Manchester Airport every day of the three days with the Friday expected to be the biggest day for travel.

The predicated numbers are up by more than 5% on the same pre-Christmas rush period for last year but the most popular destination is still Tenerife as passengers seek out the sun for their Christmas break.

Despite the Christmas rush, Manchester Airport is expecting the vast majority of passengers to clear security within its normal six minutes average wait time.

• 497,855 passengers are expected to depart from Manchester Airport between Friday 22nd and Tuesday 2nd January 2007
• A total of 155,291 people will fly between Friday 22nd and Sunday 24th December
• A typical Friday Saturday and Sunday would see around 135,000 people fly. The Christmas rush is responsible for a 15% increase in traffic.
• Figures are up on last year by 5.2%
• An average of 270 planes will fly out of Manchester every day of the three day Christmas rush

The most popular warm holiday destination for Christmas travellers from Manchester is Tenerife with Alicante and Malaga coming second and third. The most popular long haul destination is a new route to Cape Town and short breaks are dominated by Paris, Rome and Bergen in Norway.

Passengers are being urged to check security restrictions before arriving at the Airport. Despite changes to security restrictions, which allow passengers to take small amounts of liquids in their cabin baggage, many are having liquids confiscated at the security search area including wrapped Christmas gifts because they have not complied with the rules.

Manchester Airport has plans in place to make sure the extra passengers enjoy the best possible airport experience over the holiday period. Check in staff are reminding all passengers of the security changes, Customer Service Advisors will be on hand to help passengers prepare for security screening and every available security screening channel will be open. The Airport will also be operating its highly successful hot-spotting scheme where specially training CSAs will manage the queues to ensure passengers clear security in time to catch their flights.

14/12/06
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The report singles out examples of best practice at Manchester Airport, including our targets on reducing emissions and becoming carbon neutral, our commitment to public transport use and our initiatives to support the local community through the Community Champions network.

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Rotterdam is the world's largest port, and the industrial heart of the Netherlands. Over 1,000 international companies have chosen Rotterdam as the base for their European and worldwide business. More than one million people from 162 countries live in the Rotterdam city region. Rotterdam Airport is Holland's best bet for speed and convenience, and Rotterdam's exceptional rail and road links make it the ideal gateway to the Netherlands.

With the start of the new route, VLM Airlines will increase the choice of direct services it offers from Manchester, following the launch of its non-stop service to Antwerp in October. The carrier also offers an eight-times weekday service to London City, where passengers can make quick and convenient connections to other destinations on the airline's network.

VLM Airlines' decision to start the service follows extensive analysis of the carrier's existing services between Manchester and Rotterdam which connect via its hub at London City Airport, and increasing demand from passengers to travel non-stop between the two cities.

The airline commenced flights from Manchester in 1998, and since that time has seen a growing demand for flights to this major UK regional city. Manchester Airport is home to one of VLM Airlines' largest operations with two of its fleet of Fokker 50 aircraft, and around 40 employees based there.

Johan Vanneste, Managing Director of VLM Airlines, states: "This new route further enhances the choice of services we provide between the Netherlands and the UK, with 25 flights now offered each weekday."

Manchester Airport Director of Aviation Development Tim McDermott adds: "As the UK's leading regional international airport, Manchester Airport serves a massive list of business destinations worldwide. We're proud to see VLM Airlines add that vital Rotterdam link to our list."

14/12/06
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