Manchester Airport has issued a statement apologising for delays after passengers claim they were left waiting for “hours” just to check in.
It’s not been uncommon to see the UK’s third largest airport mentioned in headlines similar to this one over the past year or so.
The airport repeatedly drew criticism for its scenes of chaos for travellers this past summer – with extended delays, unplanned flight cancellations, and queues so long that many were required to turn up hours in advance and, even then, still ended up missing their flights in the most unfortunate cases.
But, despite the airport’s new CEO claiming “the big issues of earlier [last] year are behind us” in his first interview upon stepping into the role las July, passengers travelling through Manchester Airport yesterday said they were left waiting in “three-hour queues” just to check-in, and it was all due what the airport called an “an IT system outage”.
The airport explained in an initial statement that the IT outage was “affecting some of our processes”.
One passenger, John Gregory – who was due to fly from Manchester Airport to Dubai at 1:10pm – told ITV Granada that he experienced “painful” delays at baggage drop-off, and that, at one point, all passengers were told to check-in at the point where large objects usually go through, which he said made everything “extremely slow”
“We’ve been waiting three hours at the check-in,” Mr Gregory said at the time.
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“All bags are having to go through one bag inspection as the rest aren’t working. It’s painfully slow. There are lots of staff on the ground trying to get things through, but it’s absolutely rammed here now. It’s completely backed up.”
Another passenger told the MEN that they had been waiting for nearly two hours just for the plane to take off due to the IT outage causing baggage delays.
IT fault leaves Manchester Airport passengers waiting ‘hours’ to check in / Credit: Manchester Airport
Manchester Airport assured passengers facing complications and delays due to the IT outage yesterday that it was “doing all we can to ease congestion” within Terminal 1 to get travellers through the airport “as quickly as possible”, and said that its staff were “on hand to provide whatever assistance they can” to passengers in need.
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Passengers were also being advised to “check with their airline for up-to-date travel advice” throughout the day.
Shortly before 5pm, Manchester Airport then issued a statement confirming that “systems are all back up and running” and the airport is now “operating as normal” following the IT outage.
Premier League Darts is returning to Manchester’s AO Arena in 2027
Lydia Mastrolonardo
Premier League Darts is confirmed to be returning to Manchester next year.
Now’s your chance to see the youngest world champion in darts history, AKA Warrington’s very-own Luke ‘The Nuke’ Littler, show us how it’s done, as next year’s BetMGM Premier League Darts lineup has just been announced this week – with various dates confirmed across 17 different cities in the UK and Europe.
And Manchester is one of those cities, as the AO Arena has shared that they are set to host an evening next April, and we couldn’t be more excited about it.
This means that we will be lucky enough to witness the biggest names in world darts all under one roof, including headliners Gian van Veen and Luke Humphries, as well as Littler.
Manchester is the only northern city to get the pleasure of hosting the event next year, as Liverpool is also on the lineup, as is Leeds, Sheffield, and Newcastle, while elsewhere in the UK, the stars will travel to Glasgow, Birmingham, London, and several other major locations.
BetMGM Premier League Darts is to be held on Thursday 8 April at the AO Arena in Manchester, and to avoid being disappointed, fans are advised to register for presale ticket access.
Following a successful season of events in 2026, tickets are expected to be like gold-dust, so don’t say you haven’t been warned.
To access the first wave of tickets, fans must become an active PDCTV Annual Member before 23:59pm on Friday 9 October. Alternatively, general sale is on Thursday 22 October 2026, but make sure not to hang about.
Featured Image – Sandro Halank (via Wikimedia Commons)
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Andy Burnham wants to scrap the ‘unfair’ ban on drinking alcohol in football stands
Emily Sergeant
Andy Burnham has claimed he wants to scrap the ‘unfair’ ban on fans getting to drink alcohol in football stands.
It’s a ban that’s been in place in the top five tiers of men’s football since 1985, when fears over violence and hooliganism were at their height, but now the Prime Minister has raised the question of whether drinking in football stands – or ‘drinking in sight / view of the pitch’, as it’s known formally – is actually unjust, due to the fact that same rules don’t apply to fans of other sports.
“I don’t think it’s fair for football fans to be singled out in that way,” Andy Burnham has declared this week, grabbing headlines in the process.
He continued: “I think that legislation dates to an era where football was very different, and I do believe there is a case to remove that discrimination.
“I’m not going to back away from what’s been a long-held view of mine. I don’t see how it can be fair that some supporters of one sport can be treated differently.”
The Prime Minister’s comments have been met with mixed response.
Andy Burnham wants to scrap the ‘unfair’ ban on drinking alcohol in football stands / Credit: James Kirkup | Julia Nastogadka (via Unsplash)
The Football Supporters’ Association (FSA), for example, has very much welcomed the idea, saying that it ‘totally agrees’ the legislation is ‘outdated’ and ‘deserves to be reviewed’.
Tom Greatrex, chair of the FSA, said in a statement: “The FSA has always argued that it’s unfair to criminalise football fans for having a pint while watching the match – especially since you can sit in the same seat drinking alcohol whilst watching an Oasis gig or rugby league.”
However, on the flip side, the UK Football Policing Unit said it would be ‘incredibly rash’ to change the rules without proper consultation.
“Other sports simply don’t see the violence and criminal behaviour from their supporters that football does, albeit a minority, with alcohol often playing a significant part in violent and disorderly behaviour,” it said in a statement on the matter.
The Prime Minister did state in his initial proposition though that ‘there are different ways it could be done’, hinting that it could be done ‘on a trial basis’ perhaps.
The English Football League (EFL) added that it would be ‘receptive to discussions around reviewing current legislation and permitting alcoholic drinks within view of the pitch’.
No formal details on a review have been confirmed as of yet, so fans are encouraged to stay tuned for updates in due course.
Emily Sergeant -
18th January 2023 
