Manchester Airport has released a statement acknowledging its current “challenges” today as hundreds of travellers are stuck in long queues once again.
It comes after what has been weeks of travel bedlam at the UK’s third largest airport yet again, with many experiencing cancellations by individual airlines, including easyJet and TUI, and streams of other passengers left queueing for hours at check-in desks and baggage drop-off points.
In some of the most unfortunate reported cases in recent weeks, delays have been so severe that passengers have missed their flights altogether.
And now, with it being the start of half term in Greater Manchester and the week of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, social media has been flooded with pictures of queues once again this morning – which has forced the Manchester Airport to issue an update for anyone planning on travelling in the coming weeks.
In its statement released this morning, Manchester Airport has stressed that it is “aware of challenges being faced by a number of airlines and handling agents”.
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The statement continued: “Airlines and their ground handlers are responsible for their own check-in and baggage handling services [and] passengers are advised to direct any questions or concerns about these issues, or anything relating to their flight, to their airline, who will be best placed to respond – however, this is not the experience we want passengers to have at Manchester Airport.”
“We are sorry to hear customers have faced disruption,” airport bosses added.
Manchester Airport insisted in its latest statement that it is in contact with the senior management teams and ground handlers of the affected airlines to “understand the cause of these issues”, and said it will be supporting their efforts to “resolve them as quickly as possible”.
— سيّد محمد حسنات ترمذی (@SyedMHasanaat) May 29, 2022
So after spending 8 hours at @manairport yesterday, hours queuing at T2 bag drop, then security, to then find our flight delayed (with no information), @TUIUK cancelled our entire holiday to Kos (booked in 2020) by TEXT message (!) as we sat waiting at the departure gate 1/3 pic.twitter.com/poyHBLbkp8
The statement continued: “Our colleagues are on hand in the terminal to provide assistance to customers.
“We are working hard to ensure security waiting times are as quick as possible.”
Following on from the last time it issued and reiterated travel advice, the Airport rounded out its statement today saying that it “remains our advice that passengers should arrive three hours before their flight and to be as prepared as they can be for their journey through the airport.”
Featured Image – MAG
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Manchester Airport issues update for anyone flying today after hundreds of cancellations yesterday
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Airport has issued an update for anyone catching a flight today after hundreds of cancellations yesterday.
In case you hadn’t heard, hundreds of flights at several major UK airports – including Manchester Airport – were disrupted by a technical fault at air traffic control provider National Air Traffic Services (NATS) yesterday (8 September 2026), with the incident grounding planes and resulting in numerous cancellations.
According to Flightradar24, more than 1,000 flights were cancelled nationwide, and many passengers were told to expect disruption for the rest of the day.
One of the worst-affected airlines was said to be Ryanair, with around 65,000 passengers affected by the cancellations and delays.
Manchester Airport issued its first statement addressing the matter at 3:15pm yesterday, stating: “We are aware of an issue affecting NATS’ air traffic control service at UK airports, which may result in delays to some departing flights from Manchester Airport today.
“Passengers due to travel are advised to check the latest status of their flight with their airline. We will continue to monitor the situation and share further updates as more information becomes available.”
Now, although the issue has been resolved, Manchester Airport has issued further statements informing anyone travelling today what they can expect.
The airport started off by saying that it is ‘operating as normal’ today, but that passengers are advised to ‘check with their airline for the latest information’.
“A full flight schedule is expected to operate [today] but the airport may be busier due to rescheduled flights,” it added.
Passengers were then thanked for their ‘patience and understanding’ over the past 24 hours.
Featured Image – Ivan Shimko (via Unsplash)
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Hundreds of staff at four Greater Manchester hospitals to strike AGAIN next week
Emily Sergeant
Another round of strikes has been called at a handful of major Greater Manchester hospitals.
Amid ongoing disputes following the first set of strikes at the end of last month, it has now been announced that more than 350 Northern Care Alliance Foundation Trust (NCA) employees – including nurses, clinical support workers and housekeepers – who are members of the union UNISON will once again walk out for three days next week.
According to the union, the dispute centres on the NCA’s use of an outside agency called NHS Professionals (NHSP) to manage overtime.
When covering staff shortages, workers are entitled to time-and-a-half pay – however in some cases, staff earn less than they would on a normal shift, and some have even been missing out on more than £80 per shift, the union added.
Operating theatre staff were previously on picket lines in June, and although an option to resolve the row was initially tabled by NCA bosses, this has now fallen through.
Hundreds of staff at four of Greater Manchester’s hospitals are set to strike next week / Credit: Stephen Andrews (via Unsplash)
This means that staff at Salford Royal Hospital, Royal Oldham Hospital, Rochdale Infirmary, and Fairfield Hospital in Bury are walking out next week on Monday 14, Tuesday 15, and Thursday 17 September.
The union’s North West regional organiser, Kevin Dolan, said the trust had given ‘no indication’ that it’s willing to re-enter negotiations, adding that operating theatre services were ‘chronically under-staffed’ and staff were choosing to work extra shifts to cover shortages.
Ahead of the August strikes, the trust declared a critical incident to help it secure extra support and keep urgent surgery running, while also announcing that some procedures would have to be postponed.
Understandably, some disruption is expected at each of the hospitals on strike days.
But Gertie Nic Philib, who is the chief people and strategy officer at the Northern Care Alliance, said that the trust will do ‘everything we can to minimise the impact on patients’ and ‘maintain high standards of care and quality at all times.’
“We also have contingency plans in place for emergency situations,” they concluded.
Emily Sergeant -
30th May 2022 
