News

IT fault leaves Manchester Airport passengers waiting ‘hours’ to check in

The UK's third largest airport has since apologised for "any disruption" caused.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 18th January 2023

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.

“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.

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.

“We apologise for any disruption and thank passengers for their patience,” the statement concluded.

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Featured Image – Phil Mosley (via Unsplash)

News

More than 1,300 Clean Air Zone signs to finally be taken down across Greater Manchester

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

A saga is finally coming to an end… the saga of Greater Manchester’s Clean Air Zone, that is.

The Clean Air Zone was to initially hand motorists daily charges of up to £60 for some of the most polluting vehicles on Greater Manchester‘s roads.

But many will remember that the deadline for the scheme had been put on hold until while the plan was referred back to the Government for ‘urgent review’ in January 2022, following huge backlash and after then Prime Minister Boris Johnson conceded that it was ‘completely unworkable’ for the region.

The Government agreed to delay the deadline for the scheme until 2026, but local leaders wanted to scrap all charges and help to fund vehicle upgrades instead.

Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) then set out evidence supporting an investment-led, and, crucially for residents and motorists, a non-charging Clean Air Plan back in June 2022 – which it said was ‘the best solution’ to address the roadside nitrogen dioxide (NO2) problem.

More than 1,300 Clean Air Zone signs to finally be taken down across Greater Manchester / Credit: The Manc Group | Flickr

Insights of non-charging plans were published by GMCA back in December 2023.

And then, back in January of this year, it was confirmed that Greater Manchester’s plan for the introduction of a non-charging clean air zone had been backed by the Government.

More than 1,300 Clean Air Zone signs were installed across Greater Manchester at the start of the controversial scheme being initially proposed, as well as a total of 407 automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras.

Government backs Greater Manchester’s plan for a non-charging clean air zone

But while it was initially thought that this technology may go to waste, it was revealed in March 2023 that they were actually being used for an entirely different reason all together – detecting crime.

While the cameras are intended to stay in place and in use, the more than 1,000 signs are to be taken down.

“We’ve always been focused on doing what’s right for Greater Manchester, and by accelerating investment in our public transport network, we’re showing that it’s possible to improve air quality faster than if a charging Clean Air Zone had been introduced,” commented Cllr Eamonn O’Brien, who is the Clean Air lead for Greater Manchester.

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“As we deliver our Clean Air Plan alongside the Bee Network, with support from the Government, we’ll roll out the UK’s first fully integrated, zero-emission public transport system by the end of the decade and improve the air we all breathe for generations to come.”

Featured Image – The Manc Group

News

A charity match is being held in memory of late footballer Joe Thompson

Danny Jones Danny Jones Joe Thompson charity game 2025

A fundraising match is being held in memory of late footballer and charity champion, Joe Thompson, who sadly passed away earlier this year.

The former Manchester United academy product and Rochdale AFC legend famously faced a long battle with cancer, being sadly diagnosed with nodular sclerosis Hodgkin lymphoma for the first time back in 2013, being forced into a prolonged period off the pitch and, eventually, early retirement by 2019.

Bath-born Thompson was tragically struck by the illness on three different occasions, and after stage four lymphoma spread to his lungs, he sadly died this past April at the age of just 36.

Just the most heartbreaking story, but in honour of Joe’s life, the two clubs closest to his heart and which she shared the strongest connection to are now set to remember him in a special charity game next month.

Announcing the game via social media on 26 July, Rochdale AFC confirmed it will be hosting the fundraising friendly between the Greater Manchester National League outfit and Man United’s under-21s.

Writing on the club website, Rochdale said: “Both clubs will come together to remember Joe, who meant so much to both Dale and United, on Saturday, 2 August (3pm kick-off).

“A minute’s applause will take place before kick-off, whilst members of Joe’s family, who will be in attendance, are selecting some of his favourite music to be played in the build-up to the game.

“Shirts from the match will also be auctioned off post-match, with proceeds going to Joey T’s Foundation when integrated.”

Detailing how his boyhood club have recently introduced the official ‘Joe Thompson Award’, presented to players who have the traits of not just a United person but, more importantly, Joe: “resilience, honesty, integrity, humility, innovation and a relentless work ethic, with a focus on the community.”

He was a truly inspiring individual.

Even after hanging up his boots, he kept moving for a good cause.

With that all this in mind, Rochdale will be a charity exhibition match against United’s U21s squad – a team of players who are around Joe’s age when he left The Cliff to join Rochdale.

The club went on to add that all future fixtures between the clubs from now on will include a special trophy, with the first being the National League Cup match, which is due to be staged at their Crown Oil Arena home ground on 21 October.

As for this touching and heartful fundraising fixture, once again, the game will take place on Saturday, 2 August, kicking off at 3pm.

You can find out more details about the ‘A Game For Joe’ charity match in aid of the Thompson family’s foundation and grab your tickets HERE.

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Featured Images — Rochdale AFC/Sky Sports (screenshots via YouTube)

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