From Monday 7th July, traffic light controlled lane closures will be in operation on Ringway Road and is expected to last for about 5 weeks.

This may affect passengers travelling to and from Terminal 3.

See Map showing Ringway Road

There will be major roadworks that will affect passengers travelling to the airport.

The M60 Junction 5 exit slip roads over the A5103, Princess Parkway, will be affected.

This junction is a major interchange for traffic heading towards Manchester Airport, the M6, M56 and Manchester city centre.

The roadworks will affect Manchester Airport traffic for approximately nine months from July 7 2008.

We are advising passengers to plan their journey with this in mind. More information

Manchester Airport has been awarded the prestigious Best Airport Award 2008 by Airports Council International Europe.

The airport was named as the winner in the 10-25 million passenger category at the 4th Annual ACI Europe Best Airport Awards held in Paris this week. The judges praised Manchester Airport for its simple, innovative approach to attracting airlines and its commitment to the environment following the decision to make the airport carbon neutral by 2015. Also singled out for praise were the airport s community relations programme and its sponsorship of the arts.

The judges were impressed with Manchester s focus on customer service and its Customer First programme, designed to make sure that passengers have a seamless, easy and worry-free experience when they travel through Manchester Airport.

The airport was commended for the way it has handled changes to security restrictions, investing £10 million in a new security screening area in Terminal 1 and more than £2.2 million in new, state-of-the-art x-ray machines.

The awards followed a conference attended by more than 500 industry leaders, national government and EU officials where they discussed the challenges faced by European Airports, including the environment, aviation system capacity, airport financing and security.

Manchester Airport s Managing Director Andrew Cornish expressed his delight at receiving the award. He said: These are challenging times in the aviation industry and we know that there are some excellent airports in Europe, so to win this prestigious award is particularly great news.

Manchester Airport puts customers first and that includes both airlines and our passengers. We are committed to making life as easy and hassle free as possible for people when they travel through Manchester Airport.

We re also committed to the community, the environment and we re a major sponsor of the arts in the region. We firmly believe that our approach is the right way to run an airport of the future and we re delighted that the efforts of everyone here at Manchester Airport have been recognised in this award.

Awards were presented to winning airports by Dr Yiannis Paraschis, President of ACI EUROPE.

Other awards were presented as follows:

Under 1 million passengers Angelholm-Helsingborg Airport
1 5 million passengers SAGAT Turin Airport
5 10 million passengers Lyon-Saint Exupery Airport
Over 25 million passengers Madrid- Barajas Airport

The Manchester Airports Group (MAG) has appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) as part of the Group s ongoing review of its 82.7% majority shareholding in Humberside Airport.

PWC s role will be to act on MAG s behalf in exploring a possible transfer of ownership of Humberside Airport.

The review, which began in April, will consider all the options to secure the best long-term future for Humberside Airport including a sale of MAG s stake.

Commenting on the appointment Penny Coates, Managing Director Regional Airports Division, said: PWC has an enormous amount of experience with the aviation industry and will be working to develop a strategy to attract potential long- term investors and to value Humberside Airport .

We began this review because although Humberside Airport is a profitable business with a solid future, maximising that potential does not fit easily with our strategy. PWC bring a wealth of expertise to this project and I am delighted to welcome them to the MAG team .

From Monday 16th June Terminal 1 car hire companies will relocate from T1 Arrivals, to Level 13 of the multi storey car park. This is due to the Terminal 1 redevelopment.

Manchester Airport will mark its 70th anniversary on June 25th 2008

The airport, which was originally called Manchester (Ringway) Airport, today handles more than 22 million passengers a year and is one of the UK s largest international airports.

A series of celebratory events have been planned to take place throughout the year including an M Fest family day, a dinner for dignitaries and this birthday year will also see the long awaited completion of the new Concorde hangar.

Manchester Airport s Managing Director Andrew Cornish said: Manchester Airport has a long and fascinating history and we re proud to be celebrating our 70th anniversary.

The airport has changed beyond recognition from those early days and we are constantly innovating and improving Manchester Airport to make sure that we give our passengers what they want.

Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 are both undergoing major redevelopment work at the moment and we are working on a new air traffic control tower and, of course, the new hangar for Concorde. We now fly to more than 220 destinations world-wide and have more than 100 airlines operating out of Manchester Airport. These are exciting times for the future of Manchester Airport.

In 6 months of operations in 1938 the airport handled 4000 passengers - In 6 months of operations in 2007 the airport handled over 11 million passengers that s 22 million a year.

In 1938 there were 12 destinations served by Manchester, only 1 of them being outside the UK - In 2007 Manchester had over 220 destinations worldwide, more than any other UK airport.

In 1938 there were only two check-in desks - In 2008 there are hundreds of check-in desks, plus Express and Internet check-in facilities.

The runway in 1938 was 3000 feet in length - The modern runways are 10000 feet (3048 metres) in length.

Archived images

Manchester Airport A Quick History
June 25th 1938 - Ringway opens. In its first 14 months, the airport handles 7,600 passengers… the equivalent of a summer morning's work today.

1939 - An illuminated concrete fog line is installed, marking out the main 06/24 runway. It was the first one to be installed outside of the USA.

1941 - The prototype Lancaster bomber is given its first test flight from Ringway.
1951- The main runway is extended from 1,280 metres to 1,798 metres.

1952 - The Airport commences 24-hour operations and now handles 163,000 passengers every year.

1954 - The airport officially changes it name from Manchester Ringway to Manchester Airport. The airport records its millionth passenger since the Second World War.

1962 - Prince Phillip officially opens a new terminal (now Terminal 1) that was the first European terminal to utilise the 'pier' system, in which passengers remain under cover until ready to board the aircraft. The main concourse also had four Venetian chandeliers hanging from the roof.

1967 - A major extension began on the main runway; the work involved bridging the A538 Wilmslow to Altrincham road.
1969 - The runway is extended to 2,745 metres, allowing aircraft to take off with a full payload and fly non-stop to Canada.

1971- The airport reaches 2 million passengers for the first time.

1978 - The government announced that Manchester had been nominated as the sole Category A 'Gateway International Airport' outside of London. 15 scheduled airlines operate flights to 37 destinations in the UK, Europe and North America. Over one hundred companies operate at the airport, employing more than 5,000 people.

1980 - For the first time, passenger numbers top more than half a million in a single month. Manchester became the fastest growing international airport in Europe.

1984 - In June of that year, the Duchess of Kent officially opens the new check-in facilities.

1986 - The Pier C satellite lounge is completed in July with parking available for three wide-bodied aircraft, this greatly improved aircraft handling facilities. In September the first phase of the new dedicated Cargo Centre, The World Freight Terminal, was completed.

1987 - The final phase of the redevelopment of the Terminal saw a massive £3 million refurbishment of the concourse.

1989 - HRH the Princess of Wales opens the new Domestic Terminal, which includes dedicated check-in and car parking facilities.

1992 - The Aviation Viewing Park is opened. Ringway Handling Services is formed, to provide a complete baggage and freight-handling service.

1993 - Terminal Two is officially opened, again by Prince Phillip (in this case filling in for the Queen who was ill). Built at a cost of £265 million, it represented the largest construction enterprise in the region, and was designed to handle six million passengers a year.

A new railway station is opened in May, providing direct links to many towns and cities in the North of England.

The airport is formally recognised as the largest sponsor of the arts in the North West and ranks in the top ten national arts sponsors.

1997 - Approval is granted and work begins for the building of the second runway.

1998 - A major extension to Terminal One domestic is opened by the Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott. The new Terminal is first known as Terminal One British Airways, but has now been rebranded as Terminal 3.

2001 - Runway Two is officially opened by the Prime Minister, Tony Blair. The £172million development was the first Runway to be built in the UK for more than 20 years.
2002 - As a major host-city sponsor, Manchester Airport welcomes athletes from around the world to the Commonwealth Games.
2003 The £5.5 million retail upgrade of Terminal 1 is completed and extensive development of Terminal 2 gets under way.
Manchester Airport s bid to house one of the retired Concorde fleet is successful. It is announced that the aircraft, G-BOAC, will go on display in the Aviation Viewing Park from Spring/Summer 2004.
2004 - The airport s newly built public transport interchange, offering connections to many major UK cities, is officially opened by the Rt Hon Margaret Beckett, MP. The airport marks its 20 millionth passenger in the space of a year.
2005 - Manchester Airport handles 22 million passengers in a year, for the first time.
2006 - Lufthansa celebrates 50 years of flights from Manchester Airport.
2007 - Building work begins on a major refurbishment of Terminal One. Meanwhile, runway markings are changed to 05-23 from 06-24 to account for changes to the earth s magnetic field.

Ends

For further media information contact Manchester Airport Press Office 0161 489 2700 or email

We need to close Outwood Lane overnight for two nights week beginning Tuesday 27 May to complete changing the sails on the Welcome Arch and remove the Airport structure on the Hilton roundabout.

We've been granted an emergency closure order between 21.00 and 05.00 for a maximum of 5 nights beginning Tuesday 27 May. The work should be complete in 2 nights, but there is a risk that weather delays can occur. We know from past experience that this work will be difficult or impossible if there are moderately high winds. Indeed we have had to abort this work before for that reason. However, we will not close the road if there is no prospect of work that night, and will not continue with closures after the job is completed.

Traffic Management
We will divert traffic from the end of the M56 for T1 and T3 and Premier Park down Ringway Road West and into the Airport past the Airport Hotel via Ringway Road.
The mini roundabout is still in place at that junction and will stay until after this work. As the work is only planned for nighttime, airport traffic is much lighter and we will not sign T1 traffic off the M56 at the T2 exit slip.

Petrol station traffic will still be able to access the Station off Outwood Lane, but will have to exit via World Way onto the M56

From Wednesday 28 May the following airlines will be located in Terminal 1 Ground Level Check-In;

Aer Arann
Ryan Air
Olympic Airlines
Aurigny Air Services
Icelandair
European Aviation Air Charter
Futura
Spanair
Kibris Turkish Airlines
Air Berlin
Jet2.com
Lufthansa
Swiss International Airlines
Libyan Airlines

Directions
Travelling by car/ drop off for Ground Level Check In

Leave the M56 at Junction 5, keeping to the right hand lane and follow the signs for Terminal 1. The Hilton and Bewleys hotel are located on the left hand side, keep in the right hand lane following signs for Terminal 1 Ground Level Departures, take the 2nd exit at the roundabout and this will bring you outside Ground Level Check In and the drop off area.

Using Long Stay Car Parks

Transfer buses run every 15 mins 24 hours a day.

The first stop for the T1/T3 long stay car park bus is outside Terminal 3 it then carries on to Terminal 1, stopping outside the entrance to Ground Level Check In.

Returning passengers can pick up the T1/T3 long stay car park bus from outside Terminal 1 arrivals.

Terminal 1 multi-storey Short Stay Car Park

If parking on levels 3,5,7,9,11,13 take the lift to level 0 and follow signs directing you to Ground Level Check In.

If parking on levels 4,6,8,10,12 take the lifts to level 0 and follow signs directing you to Ground Level Check In, through Terminal 1 Arrivals Hall.

Ground Transport The Station

If arriving by train, coach or bus take the Station Link Bus to Terminal 1 and 3. Follow signs for the T1/T3 link bus, which departs from the front entrance of the station every 10 minutes. The first stop is outside Terminal 3 it then it carries on to Terminal 1, stopping outside the entrance to Ground Level Check In.

Alternatively you can walk to Terminal 1 following the signs via the covered walk way. Upon arrival in Terminal 1, take the main passenger lifts to Level 0 and then follow signs for Ground Level Check In.

When entering Terminal 1 and take the one of the three main lifts to level 0 and follow the signs for Ground Level Check In.

Ryanair, Europe s largest low fares airline, today (13th May) announced a new route from Manchester to its Frankfurt Hahn base. The new route will operate on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays from October 26th. Ryanair now serves 7 destinations from Manchester including Marseille, Bremen and Shannon.

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.

Euromanx who fly to Isle of Man have announced they have ceased trading as from today 9 May 2008.

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

Travelling to Moscow for the European Final? There is plenty of choice on connecting flights when flying out of Manchester Airport;

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.

Search our flight-booking engine for the latest fares - Book Now

Search Hotels in Moscow - Book Now

The Manchester Airports Group (MAG), the UK s second largest airports operator, has today announced it is examining its 82.7% majority shareholding in Humberside Airport.

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 -

From 24 April 2008 the Internal walkway connecting Terminal 1and Terminal 3 will permanently close. This is due to redevelopment work taking place in the terminal.

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.

NETWORK Rail and Carillion construction company are steaming ahead with work at Manchester Airport with improvements ahead of schedule.

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.

bmibaby has announced two brand new routes from Manchester Airport to Lisbon and Madrid for summer 2008. The airline will also add Barcelona to its route network from Manchester and increase the frequency of weekly flights to Ireland West Knock. In total bmibaby will fly to 14 destinations and operate 186 flights per week to and from the airport during the high season. Flights to the new destinations go on sale today (Monday, 25th February 2008) at www.bmibaby.com

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.

There will be even more choice of services to benefit north of England travellers as Eastern Airways introduces additional flights from Manchester Airport to London Stansted.

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.

Manchester Airport has lent its support to the 9th FINA World Swimming Championships 2008 to be held in Manchester from 9 13 April.

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

A jobs fair, held at The Station from 11am-4pm on Wednesday February 6, promises to be an employment one-stop shop.

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.

Manchester Airport is to introduce state-of-the-art iris recognition security as part of a drive to tighten staff access to the restricted zone.

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