Travellers using Manchester Airport’s T1 may soon be able to enjoy a sky-high bar experience, as the terminal is planning to convert a retired control tower into a bar and retail area.
Owner Manchester Airport Group wants the airside bar, believed to be the first of its kind and which will be located on the fifth floor of the tower offering a 360 degree view of the airport, to be “quite high-end . . . not your standard airport bar,” according to press office manager John Greenway.
The airport is currently looking at several different companies to partner with on the project, although “nothing is signed, sealed or delivered yet,” added Greenway.
The control tower is located airside at T1, Manchester’s recently-refurbished terminal which handles over nine million passengers a year flying with airlines including Emirates, Etihad, Lufthansa, Swiss, Finnair, Jet2 and Ryanair.
Potential also exists for a retail area and reception located on the second floor of the control tower. Miligan, the retail developer responsible for the Liverpool One project, along with Barcelona’s waterfront regeneration and Manchester Airport’s continuing redevelopment, will be assisting in the transformation of the tower.
In January 2009, Swedish entrepreneur Oscar Diös undertook a similar task by transforming a retired Boeing 747 into the Jumbo Hostel located outside Stockholm’s Arlanda airport (see online news January 9, 2009). Travellers can stay in the conveniently located hostel for as little as £29 a night.
Visit manchesterairport.co.uk, or click here for a proposed layout of the bar.
Report by Maggie Squires
