Manchester Airport is owned and managed by Manchester Airports Group (MAG) which is the largest domestically owned airport operator in the UK. Manchester Airports Group owns four airports including Manchester Airport, East Midlands Airport, Bournemouth Airport and Humberside Airport.
Manchester Airport is situated just off the M56 motorway and is easily accessed by the UK road and rail network. Every year Manchester Airport handles over 18 million passengers travelling to over 200 destinations both in the UK and Overseas via the 60 airlines that regularly fly in and out. Manchester Airport employs over 19,000 staff making it one of the largest employers in the North West of England.
Manchester Airport is also home to a growing cargo operation which is helping establish the city of Manchester as a major player in the European and World Economy. It is the third largest airport in the UK behind Heathrow and Gatwick Airports.
The airport operates two parallel runways and the first of which dates back to 1941, the later was opened in 2001. The runways can be viewed at various points around the site including the viewing park and the round airport orbital route.
The orbital route is a pathway that takes in the perimeter of the airport site and offers some excellent views of the airfield. Planes can be viewed boith arriving and departing alonth the fence on the East side. The orbital cycle route is very popular with cyclists and has to go down as one of my favourite cycle paths in Manchester.
Each day the whopping Airbus A380 arrives and this is a site to see for aviation fans. Seing it dwarf other aircraft makes you realise how large and spectacular it is. It arrives daily from Dubai and is operated by the leading airline Emirates.