Manchester airport will once again consolidate operations into a single terminal, following the start of a second lockdown in England.
The airport closed Terminals 2 and 3 back in March, following the onset of Covid-19, with all remaining flights departing from Terminal 1.
Terminal 3 reopened at the start of July as travel restrictions eased, followed Terminal 2 later that month, but lack of demand for flights led the airport to reclose Terminal 2 “until further notice” in September.
And the airport has confirmed that Terminal 3 will now close once more from November 11, in preparation for “a significant decrease in customers over the coming weeks”.
In a statement the airport said:
“The UK Government continues to advise against all but essential foreign travel and ignoring this guidance may invalidate travellers’ insurance policies.
“As a result of the lockdown, we expect that a number of airlines will scale back or cancel services during this period.”
All retail outlets will also close at Terminal 1, with the exception of Pret a Manger, Greggs, Boots and Spar landside, and Pret a Manger, Boots and WHSmith airside.
The multi storey car park at Terminal 3 will remain open, and MAG said it would contact any passengers with vehicles in the facility who are due to arrive into the airport after November 11, to make them aware of the change to arrivals procedures.
Earlier this month the CEO of Manchester Airports Group, Charlie Cornish, said that airlines and airports are “effectively closed businesses”, and warned that parts of the sector “will need to decide quickly what they must do to secure their future until the situation improves”.
Commenting on the news Karen Smart, managing director at Manchester Airport, said:
“The coronavirus pandemic poses an unprecedented challenge to our airport and to our wider industry, but we are determined to provide passengers with the best possible service in the circumstances, ensuring both their safety and comfort.
“When it became clear that England would enter a second national lockdown, we moved quickly to put an appropriate plan of action in place, which will safeguard the continued operation of our airport during these uncertain times. This includes closing Terminal Three from Wednesday 11 November until further notice.
“Changing our operation like this is not straightforward and I would like to thank our dedicated teams for their hard work in preparing for this scenario. We will keep this decision under constant review and communicate any further changes to our customers.
“I would encourage all passengers who will be travelling through Manchester Airport this month to ensure that they are familiar with all of the guidance in place, both from the UK Government and at their destination.
“Finally, I want to thank all our customers for their understanding and cooperation at this time.”
More information can be found at manchesterairport.co.uk/coronavirus.
