Happy Birthday to Manchester Airport
Manchester Airport turns 80 on 25 June – and the Airport has announced a programme of activities to celebrate.
The traditional symbol for an 80th anniversary is oak, and the Airport is using that as a means of representing its growth, with celebrations focusing on the Airport’s regional roots and global branches. Where the Airport started life as a single wooden hut in 1938, it is, today, the UK’s third largest airport.
Celebrations planned
The Airport is the official partner of this year’s Manchester Day – a day that celebrates the city – and the Airport has ensured that it is well equipped for the Day’s parade, with an interactive float that tells the story of its history. The float will also highlight its current network of more than 220 different destinations around the globe – more than any other UK airport and 15th in the world by this measure.
During its birthday week, Manchester Airport will join forces with the Bee in the City campaign, and will exhibit a giant bee in its Ground Transport Interchange. The bee will have a theme of ‘80 days around the world’, again referencing the Airport’s route network. It will be one of the many bees that eventually go on auction to raise funds for the I Love Manchester fund.
The Airport will also be curating a special exhibition of artefacts from its archives, which will be housed at its Runway Visitor Park, available for the public to view for free. The exhibition will include old airline memorabilia, uniforms and antique luggage scales.
The Runway Visitor Park’s annual Aviation & Transport Festival, running 30th June and 1st July, will also be referencing the 80s, this time the decade, with a celebration of all things 80s, including classic cars and vehicles, historic military transport and aviation exhibits.
The Dutch national carrier KLM will also be joining in on the festivities. KLM operated the first commercial flight from Manchester Airport to Amsterdam via Doncaster on 27th June 1938 and will be partnering up with Manchester Airport to celebrate alongside its customers. Ivo Steffens, Head of Commercial for Air France KLM said: “We are extremely proud to be celebrating 80 years of operation from Manchester Airport this summer, a significant milestone in the long partnership between KLM and the Manchester region. Having commenced operations with a Douglas DC2 back in 1938, we now offer the local community five daily flights between Manchester and Amsterdam, with many of our passengers travelling onwards to our extensive network of 165 destinations worldwide.
Finally, the Airport has made a pledge to plant 80 oak trees around the region, working community organisations to decide the locations for them.
There will be plenty of community activities, including a school competition to design the airport’s official birthday card.
Reflecting on the Airport’s history, Andrew Cowan, CEO of Manchester Airport said: “Marking 80 years is a milestone everyone at the airport is incredibly proud of. As we look back, it is clear to see Manchester is a totally different airport to when it first opened in 1938, but we have never lost sight of our local roots and the important role we play in the lives of those living and working around us.
“As passenger numbers have grown, along with the number of places we fly to, so have the benefits we deliver to the region, in terms of the number of jobs created, businesses supported through our investment or the trade and tourism links we provide.
“I look forward to the coming years and seeing the airport develop through our £1bn transformation programme that will see Manchester continue to be a world-class airport for all of the North.”
Manchester Airport today
Manchester Airport is currently the UK’s third largest. It was officially opened on Saturday June 25th 1938 with an air display from the Royal Air Force. Operations began two days later and in the first 12 months, the airport handled 7,600 passengers – which is the equivalent of a summer morning's work today.
The original 1938 route network included Western Super-Mare, Croydon and Doncaster whereas Manchester today now serves more than 220 international destinations worldwide including Beijing, Houston, Mumbai, San Francisco, Singapore and Boston.
The Airport has therefore grown from humble beginnings to an integral part of the community. Sir Richard Leese, the Leader of Manchester City Council, echoed this sentiment: “Manchester Airport is integral to the city’s prosperity and future growth, helping us to attract investment from around the globe and create jobs, while connecting international visitors with everything we have to offer. It’s also a really important local employer, so it’s fitting that staff from the Airport will be joining us for the Manchester Day parade, as part of the 80th anniversary celebrations for this vital asset to Manchester.”
The 80th celebrations coincide with a £1bn investment programme, which is currently underway. The programme is set to offer a series of improvements that will modernise the Airport’s and to enable Manchester Airport to achieve a ranking as a top 10 European airport. The improvements include:
- the expansion and reconfiguring of Terminal 2 to become the airport’s primary terminal building.
- improvement of Terminal 3 so that it can cater for increased demand and an expanding flight schedule.
- new and enlarged airside transfer facilities, including the direct linkage between Terminals 2 and 3.
- improved technology in two new security halls
- a host of new customer-friendly improvements, including self-service check-in facilities and around 50 food, beverage and retail outlets.
- the opportunity to introduce a United States pre-clearance facility, allowing passengers to clear immigration, customs and agricultural inspection by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) before boarding their flight.
