Manchester Airport has today revealed details of more than 20 new shops, bars and restaurants that will open at its shiny new Terminal 2 next year, including a huge new street food hall.
Everything from luxury retail units to a new pub will be opening to cater to passengers before they jet off on their holidays.
Manchester Airport has lined up an impressive array of food, drink and retail for this final phase of its £1.3bn transformation programme.
This includes the airport’s first ever Wetherspoons pub, a Chanel makeup and skincare boutique, a Pandora, Greggs, and Joe and the Juice.
Terminal 2 at Manchester Airport will also include plenty of local food names again – you’ll be able to indulge on Gooey bakes in the new food hall, visit an expanded Amber Alehouse from Seven Brothers Brewery, as well as visiting the existing locations of Pot Kettle Black, Archie’s and Sam Carlo.
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The huge new phase for the airport, completing in Summer 2025, will feature a Boutique Mall home to brands like Chanel and a Fever-Tree cocktail bar, as well as a high street-style strip called The Avenue, where passengers will find LEGO, Pandora and Rituals.
Of the 22-strong list of new businesses joining the Manchester Airport, a big name is the 472-seat market hall-style street food venue, which will have seven different kitchens within it, including a Gooey dessert bar.
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The Great Northern Market will feature a diverse range of world street food options including pizza, Mexican food, noodles and more, with a regularly rotating offering.
The Great Northern market has been created with street food pioneer Dominic Cools-Lartigue, the founder of food markets Street Feast and Dalston Yard, and Airport Retail Enterprise.
The Great Northern market is part of the new phase of Manchester Airport. Credit: MAG
Alongside it will be the first JD Wetherspoon’s pub at Manchester Airport, which will feature nods to sporting greats of the North in its decor, as well as brands like Upper Crust, Starbucks, and WHSmith’s Grindsmith Café.
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A new World Duty Free store will span a whopping 2,165sq metres, packed with names like Christian Dior, Gucci, YSL and Charlotte Tilbury, plus other luxury and beauty brands, premium liquor, souvenirs, food and drink, and loads more, with smaller ‘Express’ stores dotted through the terminal.
Manchester Airport’s £1.3bn transformation project has been ongoing for almost a decade, said to be generating 16,400 extra jobs by 2040 as a result of the economic activity stimulated by the expansion of the airport and its route network.
More than 30 million passengers have already used the Terminal Two extension since the first phase opened in 2021.
A planned extension to the Amber Alehouse by Seven Bro7hers at Manchester Airport. Credit: MAG
Chris Woodroofe, Managing Director at Manchester Airport, said: “We are really proud to connect the North to the world – and now through our brand new Terminal 2 we’re able to do that in a setting that rivals any airport in any major capital city.
“The new shops, bars and restaurants we’re adding in the second phase of the development of Terminal 2 will really elevate the experience and help people feel like they’re starting their holidays at the airport.
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“Whatever your budget and preferences, you’ll be able to find something to your tastes in Terminal 2.
“Not only that, you’ll also be able to enjoy modern, world-class facilities and one of Europe’s most extensive route networks – so wherever you’re travelling, you’ll be able to start your trip in style.”
John Butts at Director, Airport Retail Enterprise, added: “We are delighted to be such a huge part of the new Terminal 2 expansion and to be bringing a food market to Manchester Airport.
“Manchester’s food and beverage scene is world class and food market halls have played an integral role in this culture – they offer choice, convenience, speed and the buzz of communal dining at an affordable price.
A new duty free will also be added to Manchester Airport Terminal 2 along with the new food and drink offerings. Credit: MAG
“We’ve brought together a fabulous team including those behind Manchester icons Gooey and Dominic Cools-Lartigue, the founder of food markets Street Feast and Dalston Yard. We are bringing local suppliers to a fantastic open space which will include murals hand-painted by local artists.
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“Airport dining has never looked better and it is our vision that Great Northern Market will rival any high street experience.”
Richard Jackson, Retail Director at Manchester Airport, said: “We are proud of the world-class facilities on offer in Terminal 2, and a key part of our vision for the finished terminal is to provide an unrivalled experience for passengers shopping and dining before they catch their flight.
CGI of the new premium ‘high street’-style retail offering at Manchester Airport Terminal 2. Credit: MAG
“We’re delighted to be bringing such a varied offering to the second phase of our brand-new Terminal 2, with local brands complemented by well-known high street names and options to suit every budget.
“We’ve worked hard to make sure we’re bringing exciting, classic brands like Chanel and Pandora to the airport as well as Fever-Tree opening a statement cocktail bar and our very own Lego store – while also making sure people have the brands they love to see in an airport setting like Wetherspoon and Greggs.
“On top of that our Great Northern Market will be a unique airport offering – allowing people to enjoy the popular ‘market hall’ style dining experience with a range of individual street food style pop ups around a central eating area. It will let groups of people dine together while being able to choose from a range of different and varied menus.”
Manchester Airport offers reasoning as it’s named the UK’s worst airport for flight delays
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Airport has been revealed as the UK’s worst airport for flight delays, according to the latest figures.
But now, the airport has offered its reasoning in defence – saying it was ‘out of [our] control’.
According to annual analysis of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data by the Press Association (PA), as reported on in many major news outlets like BBC, Sky News, and ITV, Manchester Airport came in last place – with flights running, on average, 19 and a half minutes behind schedule last year.
Manchester Airport – which is the third busiest airport in the country, and the only airport outside of London to have two runways – was used by more than 32 million people last year, and despite its placing at the bottom of the rankings again, did manage to at least secure a 30-second improvement compared to 2024.
The analysis took into account scheduled and chartered departures from the 23 commercial UK airports, with at least 1,000 outbound flights last year, and cancellations were not included.
These latest figures arrive as Manchester Airport is currently in the middle of revamping Terminal 3, and after having recently completed an extensive transformation of Terminal 2.
Manchester Airport offers reasoning as it’s named the UK’s worst airport for flight delays / Credit: MAG
Offering a statement in defence of its placement in the CAA rankings this year, a spokesperson for Manchester Airport said: “Punctuality is affected by factors that are outside of an airport’s control.
“The two most significant factors contributing to delays in the last year have been industrial action affecting air traffic control in Europe, and the weather.
“These were exacerbated by airspace restrictions above conflict zones meaning airports with significant long-haul networks, like Manchester, were more significantly affected than others.”
Top 10 worst UK airports for flight delays
Manchester – 19 minutes, 30 seconds
Birmingham – 18 minutes, 42 seconds
Bournemouth – 17 minutes, 18 seconds
Southampton – 16 minutes, 36 seconds
Gatwick – 16 minutes, 24 seconds
Newcastle – 15 minutes, 48 seconds
Leeds Bradford – 15 minutes, 36 seconds
Stansted – 15 minutes, 36 seconds
Edinburgh – 15 minutes, 24 seconds
Teesside – 15 minutes, 6 seconds
Other airports finding themself towards the bottom end of the rankings include Birmingham, with averaged delays of 18 minutes 42 seconds, Bournemouth, Southampton, and Gatwick.
Northern airports like Newcastle, Leeds Bradford, and Teesside also rank low.
On the flip side, however, in a win for the North West, Liverpool John Lennon Airport had the most punctual flights out of any major UK airport – with an average delay of nine minutes and 24 seconds.
Featured Image – Ivan Shimko (via Unsplash)
Travel & Tourism
Manor House Hotel & Spa – The magical garden spa near Manchester with TWO swim-up bars
Daisy Jackson
There’s an increasing number of garden spas popping up around the UK, where you can soak and relax out in the open air.
But a lot of them are missing the key ingredient – the gardens.
That’s what makes Manor House Hotel & Spa over in Cheshire so special. It feels like it’s been built as garden first, spa second, in the way that pools and hot tubs seem to have been slotted in between established trees and flower beds and shrubs.
It’s like stumbling onto the set of a romantic period drama, but with state-of-the-art spa facilities concealed into the grounds. I’m half expecting a sopping wet Colin Firth to emerge from a hot tub.
And although the square footage of the garden spa is relatively small, it’s this clever landscaping that makes it feel like a never-ending maze where every turn reveals a new place to lie down.
There are covered, swinging beds in a herb garden. A sauna concealed as a potting shed. Private bookable hot tubs behind a hedge.
And then the real whimsy – the secret garden. Opened just last year, this corner of the spa is home to a blisteringly turquoise heated pool, surrounded by charming sage green ‘sheds’ (which are actually a series of cosy indoor relaxation pods).
The Secret GardenOne of two cold plunge poolsThe relaxation sheds in the secret gardenA huge heated poolThe Secret Garden’s sauna
There’s a second swim-up bar here, because why stop at one, a cold plunge pool with spring flowers wrapped around it, a lawn for sunbathing if you’re lucky, and a traditional Finnish sauna overlooking it all.
It doesn’t stop there – weave along the footpaths and you’ll come across a sunken, circular hydrotherapy pool, a cosy summer house with noise-cancelling headphones you can plug in to, a gently heated panoramic laconium, hammocks, squishy sunbeds, swing seats, and so much more.
The adjective that keeps coming to mind is ‘pretty’, but that almost feels too flippant for how gorgeous the spa garden is.
And you might think with it being an outdoor garden spa that it would be a waste of time in bad weather – but you’re wrong.
Manor House has built subtle shelters which look more like garden pagodas over a lot of the facilities here, including part of the main pool and swim-up bar, and most of the double lounge beds.
The main pool and swim-up barThe Potting Shed saunaA classic cold plunge tubThe hydrotherapy pool
But even beyond that, your classic spa facilities like the saunas and salt steam chamber have been constructed in out-buildings, safe from the infamous North West weather, AND there’s a sizeable indoor pool, sauna and steam room back inside the main hotel building.
The metal cold plunge tub is exposed to the elements – but if you’re being brave enough to dunk in this, a little drizzle is the least of your worries.
They’ve got an enormous list of treatments on offer here, whether you want to be scrubbed and rubbed into a new person, or give your skin a real boost with a facial. Once you’re done with your treatment, Manor House has built a cosy relaxation lounge, where you can pull the curtains across your own private booth to sip a cup of herbal tea and unwind.
Private relaxation booths for post-treatmentMezze lunchDinner in the StablesBreakfast the next dayThe Salt ShedDrinks from The Bothy Bar, a swim-up bar in the secret gardenThe indoor poolThe Stables restaurantBedroomsCovered beds in the herb garden
Alongside all that relaxing, a typical spa package at Manor House may include an afternoon tea, a brunch, or a mezze platter lunch, with a glass of fizz served to you in the Pool House.
And if you go for the overnight, you’ll be sinking into a huge plush bed, full from a refined British gastropub dinner in the hotel’s cosy restaurant space, The Stables.
Manor House is currently running a full Spring Renewal Spa Escape, for the ultimate taste of everything that’s on offer while the gardens are in full bloom.
The Manor House Spring Renewal Spa Escape package
An overnight hotel stay
A 60-minute Collagen Renewal Ritual (a soothing, exfoliating back massage, followed by a luxurious collagen facial)
Full access to the spa, with 18 spa experiences, on both days of your stay
A delicious three-course dinner in the Stables restaurant
Daisy Jackson -
19th September 2024 
