Travellers making their way to Manchester Airport are now being told to prepare for traffic delays on surrounding motorways.
After what has been scenes of chaos for holidaymakers over the last few months at the UK’s third largest airport, with long delays, unplanned flight cancellations, and queues so long that many were required to turn up hours in advance and even then still miss their flights in the most unfortunate cases, it now seems the disruption isn’t limited to when you step foot inside the airport.
Those travelling from Cheshire and other western parts of Greater Manchester to Manchester Airport are being urged to leave extra time for journeys starting from next week.
It’s all because of ongoing overnight work on the M56 eastbound carriageway, and National Highways is saying it will effect anyone who is taking late night and early morning flights between 9am and 7pm.
Work is set to begin on Thursday 14 July and is due to finish on Friday 5 August and into Saturday 6 August.
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A series of overnight closures will be in place between the two dates.
Ongoing overnight work on the M56 eastbound carriageway will cause delays from next week / Credit: National Highways
“On nights when the eastbound carriageway is closed, those good diversions will be in place but our key message for people heading to the airport for an early morning flight is to please spend a little time planning journeys before setting out and follow the diversion advice once you are approaching the airport,” explained Sajjad Ali from National Highways.
National Highways has released information on a number of diversion options for those travelling to Manchester Airport during the affected dates.
Anyone travelling to the airport from Junction 7 of the M56 at Altrincham should use the northbound A56 through Altrincham, eastbound A56, then the southbound A5144 Thorley Lane/Delahays Road and eastbound A538 Hale Road from Timperely to Hale Barns then using Runger Lane to get to the airport and junction 5.
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This route is not suitable for commercial vehicles.
A number of diversions are in place for those travelling to Manchester Airport during the affected dates / Credit: National Highways
Drivers preferring to use the alternative motorway route should join or stay on the M6 at Lymm interchange – M56 junction 9/M6 Junction 20 – travelling north to junction 21 of the M6, and they should join the eastbound A57 Manchester Road, anti-clockwise M60 and westbound M56 for junction 5.
National Highways say the M56, between junction 6 at Hale Barnes and junction 8 at Bowdon, will also be closed nightly, apart from at weekends, over that same period.
“We have an ongoing conversation with the airport about our construction programme and only close carriageways when we need the space to work safely,” Sajjad Ali concluded.
Police are searching for a missing bride-to-be, with CCTV from the day she vanished released
Daisy Jackson
Police have ramped up their appeal to find missing bride-to-be Eren Wright, releasing CCTV of her on the day she vanished.
Eren has been missing since 27 October, when she left her home address in Lytham St Annes.
Since then, her desperate fiancé has shared that her phone was last detected in Birkdale Southport at around 5.30pm that same day, and her bank accounts are empty.
He said last week in a post on Facebook: “Myself and the pets are freaking out not knowing where she is and if she is ok, she has been missing for nearly 12 hours.”
Eren was last seen just after 10am leaving her home on St David’s Road South.
She is described as white, 5’7″, slim, and with blonde hair. She also has tattoos of vines and a tree on her hand and arms.
Police have ramped up their appeal to find missing bride-to-be Eren Wright. Credit: Fylde Police
Eren was last seen wearing a light olive green hoodie with a painting on the front, beige/cream wide leg pants, and worn white trainers.
Police have now shared the new CCTV image of Eren in the hopes that someone might know where she is, or have seen her.
Fylde Police also said they were ‘worried’ about her.
If you see Eren or know where she might be, call 999 quoting log 1309 of October 27th.
Leigh drug dealer jailed after being ‘caught red-handed’ by police
Emily Sergeant
A drug dealer known around the Leigh area has been jailed last week after police caught him ‘red-handed’.
Dawid Bialek, of no fixed abode, has been jailed after pleading guilty to four counts of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs (heroin and crack cocaine), and handling stolen goods.
It comes after, on Monday 11 May 2026, officers from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) who were patrolling on a canal towpath, near Quayside in Leigh, spotted 30-year-old Bialek attempting to discard a package in the water.
The package was subsequently recovered, and according to GMP, was found to contain multiple wraps of suspected Class A drugs.
Further enquiries then led police to an address in Leigh, where additional evidence linked to drug dealing was recovered – including suspected drugs, scales, empty wraps, and mobile phones.
Bialek was later bailed as police conducted further enquiries, but while that work was continuing, on Friday 19 June, officers carrying out plain-clothes patrols in the town centre saw Bialek in an alley just off the canal tow path, handing out wraps of heroin and crack cocaine to others.
He was once again stopped, searched, and found to be in possession of drugs and cash.
This time he was charged and able to be remanded. He appeared at court over the summer and plead not guilty to the charges brought against him, but as the investigation continued, examination of seized mobile phones uncovered further evidence of drug dealing activity – including messages, videos and notes consistent with the supply of Class A drugs.
Due to the quantity of evidence gathered and submitted to the CPS, Bialek changed his plea to guilty and was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court last week.
He has been jailed for a total of four years and nine months.
Following the sentencing, a spokesperson for GMP’s Leigh Neighbourhood Policing Team said: “The supply of Class A drugs causes significant harm within our communities and often exploits vulnerable people who are struggling with addiction.
“This result demonstrates our commitment to targeting those responsible for bringing drugs into Leigh and disrupting the criminality associated with them.”
Emily Sergeant -
7th July 2022 
