Manchester Airport Blog

Manchester could use new security scanner

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 14:45:37 BST

Since the planned attack on planes about to embark on flights across the Atlantic from Heathrow in 2006, UK airports have been very strict when it comes to passengers carrying any liquids onboard flights. The rules currently say that no more than 100ml of any liquid can be carried onto planes. Anything such as baby milk and medicine has to be in a suitable container and checked beforehand. This has led to passengers having to either drink their liquids before they board, or dump them entirely. Either way it has led to hours of queuing and a security system in desperate need of a burst of speed.

Thank heavens technology has now caught up. Currently on trial at Manchester airport is the very latest in bag-scanning equipment, which is proving to possess the potential to reduce those queues by hours. For the last three months a new and improved X-ray machine has been buzzing all day and night. This new model, known as RTT Scanners, has been designed in Surrey by Rapiscan Systems and is a 3D version of the existing CT scanners. The image we all associate with these X-Ray scanners is now in three dimensions and has the capability to measure the exact weight of all the liquids that pass under it, telling the security staff exactly what substance is inside and whether it’s safe or not.

Each type of liquid comes up on the scanner as a different colour. It has allowed the staff at Manchester to check over five times as many bags per hour. Indeed the RTT can safely check 1800 bags in a single hour. However, with rumours that the authorities may be relaxing the current vigorous checking at some point in the future, they will have to be put in use across the UK as quickly as possible, if Rapiscan are going to recover their investment.

Plans for Manchester airport to become a mini city

Fri, 27 Mar 2009 14:40:23 GMT

Plans to turn Manchester airport into a “mini city” have recently been revealed. The Manchester Airport Group Developments Ltd announced at a property convention in Cannes that the purchase of 30 acres of land from the Burford Group had been agreed at a cost in excess of £15 million. This land purchase was described as the “last piece in the jigsaw” for the ambitious plans to become a reality.

The Airport City will provide, in combination with the council-owned Manchester Business Park, all manner of facilities on the two million square feet site including retail, leisure and entertainment outlets, manufacturing and commercial premises, hotel and conference facilities, as well as increased runway capacity and extended terminals and cargo facilities.

Approximately five thousand jobs are likely to be created over the next ten to fifteen years which will come as welcome news as nationwide unemployment tips the 2 million mark.

The chief executive of Manchester City Council has brushed aside concerns that this is perhaps not the best of times to be contemplating such a development, saying that the current downturn in passenger numbers due to the economic situation is a “blip” and that it is imperative to look to the future. Passenger numbers at Manchester are predicted to rise to 50 million by 2030.

Planners have been looking at Barcelona, Amsterdam and Copenhagen airports as possible blueprints for the new Airport City at Manchester.

The plans will come as bad news for SEMA, a group which campaigns to stop expansion at the airport on environmental grounds.

Top airport hotel saved in Last Minute deal

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 14:57:49 GMT

A top hotel at Manchester airport has been saved from going into administration at the last minute by a new deal. The luxury hotel, Etrop Grange, has been based at the airport for a number of years and hosted thousands of business people and celebrities. It will be one of 18 hotels under the Folio brand bought out by Mulborn Ltd, although it will continue to operate under its existing name.

The 100 staff members of the hotel breathed a sigh of relief as the deal was reached. General Manager of Etrop Grange, John O’Reilly said “it is very much business as usual as far as we are concerned”.

The deal is good news amidst a wave of businesses and retailers going into administration as the country heads deeper into an economic recession. Clothing retailer Morgan went into administration at the end of December and on Christmas Eve, music and games company, Zavvi followed the same route. At the end of November Southampton’s historic Dolphin hotel demonstrated that hotels are no longer safe as it too brought administrators in to try and sell the business.

Etrop Grange joined other Folio hotels around the country who were celebrating the news. In total 1200 jobs were saved and the new company is forecasting a £48 million pound turnover in its first year of trading. The sales director said that “all existing bookings will be honoured”. Another company, Bespoke Hotels will manage a further thirteen hotels which were also part of the Folio brand.

Man charged £900 at Manchester Airport car park

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 14:55:49 GMT

A man was charged just under £900 to park his car at a Manchester Airport car park for two weeks whilst on holiday. Mr Carr, aged 28, who works for Lancashire City Council, was holidaying in Barbados with his family and he didn’t discover the mistake until he was back at his home. He had booked his parking space two weeks beforehand, paying a discount rate of £51.99 under a super saver deal. He was later horrified to discover the company had taken an additional £842.90 from his account.

Mr Carr phoned the company and a telephone operator said he would return the call in ten days once he had discovered what the problem was. At that stage Mr Carr understood that an investigation would be carried out, not that the money would be refunded. He faced the prospect of going into overdraft once other bills went out of his account. He said “it would have been better if I had paid on a credit card but this money has gone from my current account. At first I thought it had been online fraudsters”.

Had he gone into overdraft with his current account he would have faced a £60 charge per day. However, Mr Carr then phoned the Manchester Evening News who intervened. The money was then returned to his account and the original fee waived as a gesture of good will.

A spokesman said the huge over-charge was due to a “one-off system error which calculated the car parking charge incorrectly.”

Russian pilots breach alcohol limits at Manchester

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 10:07:16 GMT

Two Russian pilots working for the national carrier, Aeroflot, were fined last week for having drunk excessive alcohol the night before they were due to fly a plane back to Moscow from Manchester airport.

Captain Mikhail Danilstsev, aged 47, and co-pilot Andrey Lyubimov, aged 56, were arrested by police at the airport after a member of the airline staff smelt alcohol on their breath. She contacted her supervisor who in turn contacted the police in order that a breathalyser test could be carried out. Both tests were positive and revealed alcohol limits of 27 mg in 100 mls of blood, significantly greater than the permissible 20mg.

The men claimed that they had both drunk four pints of beer the previous evening but had judged the beer to be significantly less potent than the beer they drink in Russia. They therefore felt that they would be under the limit for the flight which was scheduled to leave at 4am the next day.

Admittedly the plane would not have been carrying any passengers since it was a “ferry flight” but this in no way diminished the culpability of the pilots who, the judge pointed out, could easily have compromised the safety of passengers on other flights.

In their defence, the men said that they had not anticipated that the flight would have taken off on time but acknowledged that they had broken the law both in this country and in Russia and also the company policy, which bans the drinking of alcohol in the 24 hours prior to flying. They were fined £2500 each, ordered to pay costs, and have been sacked by Aeroflot.

Manchester Airport expansion causes controversy

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 14:51:06 GMT

The Manchester Evening News has described plans drawn up by Manchester Airport to destroy a 400-year-old cottage as “cultural barbarism”. The airport is keen to make space for two large cargo warehouses and it hopes to be given permission to destroy Rose Cottage, a Grade II-listed building. The Wythenshawe area committee rejected the airport’s proposal but the plans are now going to be considered by town hall planners.

The planned extension to the airport’s freight terminal, estimated to be costing approximately £20 million, will be built on land near Runger Lane. The airport also wants to demolish several other historical properties located within close proximity of Rose Cottage. Manchester Airport believes that cargo making use of its World Freight Centre will increase from just over 165,000 tonnes to over 270,000 tonnes by the end of 2015. Furthermore, it has stated that the two new cargo units will create approximately 60 jobs.

Although the airport has made it clear that they intend on saving and subsequently storing all the historical features of the cottages and properties involved in the proposal, local residents have been quick to condemn the plans. These residents, along with local councillors and historians, have been upset further by news that a natural pond and numerous mature trees will probably be demolished along with the buildings.

Manchester Airport is the largest airport in the United Kingdom outside of London. It was officially opened in 1938 and last year it handled a total of 22,112,625 passengers.