UK

The UK's third busiest airport, with plenty to see. As well as the regular schedules, a number of which can't be seen elsewhere in the UK, summer brings a large influx of holiday charters, and there's quite a lot of foreign maintenance work that goes on, mostly in the winter. Combine this with the not-infrequent 'one-off' visitors and it's well worth a visit.
It's definitely busiest in the mornings, although there's a fairly steady stream of movements throughout the day during the week, together with a secondary peak in the late afternoon. There are quite a lot of 'business' flights, though, so weekend afternoons can be pretty quiet at times.

Photographically, Manchester has a lot of potential, and it's certainly one of the best airports in the UK from this point of view, although a certain amount of moving around during the day will be required to get the best shots.

a) The obvious starting point is the spectators viewing area, on the 13th floor of the multi-storey car park at Terminal 1. From here you should be able to get good shots of almost everything going to and from Terminal 2, together with some Terminal 1 flights that use the suitable gates (22, 24 and 26) on the north side of pier C. (Although certain airlines do seem to prefer these gates, it's really just pot luck as to what you'll actually get). Great in the morning, but progressively worse as the day moves on.

F-GLXF Air Toulouse Boeing 737	EC-FHK Iberia MD-87 ('Feliz Navidad' markings)	SU-GAM Egyptair Boeing 747	TC-JBF KTHY Boeing 727	TC-ONL Onur A300

b) The other major area is the Aviation Viewing Park, on the northern side of runway 06. This is an excellent spot, with raised viewing mounds, shop and snackbar, and deservedly popular (especially when Concorde makes an appearance!). It's very close to the taxiway (a 747 almost needs a wide-angle lens), and close enough to the runway for a 737 to (just about) fill a 300mm frame. Although you'll get the best shots when there's an easterly (unfortunately less common) wind, it's quite acceptable whichever runway is in use. The best time is from about 3pm onwards in the summer, although in winter the sun doesn't really get far enough around to be of much use for more than an hour or two.

F-GCJL Air Mediterranee Boeing 737	3B-NAL Air Mauritius Boeing 767	HB-IPL Balair/CTA A310	G-SWJW Air Scandic A300	A6-SMS Learjet

c) On the southern side of the runway, near the threshold of runway 24, there's a large field with a public footpath running through it, from where you can get excellent landing shots and reasonable take-offs. Although this is perfect for the prevailing westerly wind, it's rather a long way round, and not that easy to find. If you decide to get to it via the footpath you'll need good, stout boots in winter, and a machete(!) in summer to get through - it's a bit further, but much easier, to go round a bit more and walk back across the field. Bring a ladder if you've got one, otherwise there's a stile at the end of the field which is fine for landings, but not much good for take-offs. Good pretty much all day in winter (but cold!), and up to about 2-3pm in summer.

A6-EKE Emirates A300	AP-BCN PIA Boeing 747	0601 Czech Air Force Tu-154	C-FTDA Airtours A320	EC-EGH LTE Boeng 757

d) The food concourse in Terminal 1 overlooks parts of Terminals 1 (commuters and regional flights) and 3 (BA) and the runway through large full-length windows. Unfortunately the glass is slightly tinted and you're looking into the sun most of the day, so photos from here are less than ideal, but it's certainly useful during the not infrequent rainy days here!

G-OAKI Air Kilroe Jetstream 31	G-GNTB BMA Saab 340	LX-LGU Luxair ERJ-145	G-RUNG BMA Saab 340	F-GNEM AOM/Cubana DC-10

e) The crash gate just at the far side of the British Airways apron is just about the only place where you can get taxiing shots of aircraft going to runway 24. Unfortunately, it's so close to the taxiway that anything bigger than a regional jet/ prop will need a wide-angle lens, and you're also facing into the sun until fairly late in the afternoon.

EK-85279 Armenian Airlines Tu-154	475 RSaudiAF C-130	G-BNWU British Airways Boeing 767

f) 'The Airport' pub, just by the threshold of runway 24 is also popular (for obvious reasons!). It's VERY close to the taxiway - the only way you'll get closer to the planes is by going airside - quite spectacular in fact, but whether it's any good for your health is another matter! You can get pretty good landing shots from here, but nothing on the ground - you're much too close, and not surprisingly the fences are pretty big. It's also only really useful fairly late in the afternoon during summer.

NOTE: The above information relates to the situation before Manchester's second runway was opened. I have not visited since then, but I believe all the above spots are still 'current', although not all may be useful at any particular time depending on which runway is in use. There are also now additional locations by the new runway, which apparently offer superb photographic opportunities.

Last visited on 17 October 1999	Top of page

Maps

Click on the icons below to see various maps and images relating to Manchester airport. Note that these are all external links to other sites, and will open in a new window.

Official CAA Manchester airport map Courtesy of: NATS Ltd. Note that you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader (v4.0 or later) installed in order to view this. Click here to download this from the Adobe site if you need it.		OS street map of the Manchester airport area Courtesy of: Streetmap.co.uk		General map of the Manchester area Courtesy of: maps.expedia.com

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