While waiting for a flight to Mallorca, Sean Mills and Katie Littlewood sum up how many of us have been feeling lately.
“It’s been a long 18 months,” said Sean. “We can’t wait to get away.”
On Wednesday morning, Sean, 30, and Katie, 26, from Stockport were among the first 500 passengers to depart from Manchester Airport’s glitzy, new, modernized Terminal 2.
The project is the flagship of the huge £ 1 billion redevelopment of the airport. The project took five years to complete and its opening was delayed twice by the pandemic.
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But with the restrictions on international travel facilitation, the airport managers have now pushed ahead with the start.
The managing director of Manchester Airport, Karen Smart, described the opening as one of the “most meaningful” days in the 83-year history of the airport.
She said, “It’s just nice to welcome passengers to the Terminal 2 extension and take them on vacation.
Sean Mills and Katie Littlewood
(Image: MEN / Kenny Brown)
“It is at the heart of the £ 1 billion refurbishment project at Manchester Airport. It has given us an institution worthy of our status as a global gateway to the north.
“It’s a flagship, not just for us here in Manchester, but I think for the whole of the UK aviation industry.”
Dan Webb and Heather Ferri
(Image: MEN / Kenny Brown)
Dan Webb and Heather Ferri from Glasgow are waiting at the Jet2 gate.
The couple, both 29 years old, met during the lockdown and flew to Mallorca for a week on their first vacation together.
Dan said, “We’ve been trying to go away together for ages and some trips have been canceled so it’s very exciting.
“I’m sick of everything being held back by all the restrictions for everyone.
“We have to go on at some point and get the world moving again.”
The heart of the departure hall is a honeycomb light installation – an allusion to the worker bee from Manchester
(Image: MEN / Kenny Brown)
Only three flights started on Wednesday – to Menorca, Ibiza and Mallorca – and initially only Jet2 and TUI flights from the terminal.
But from Thursday TUI will be flying to green destinations like Malta and Madeira, while Singapore Airlines will take off on July 17th.
More routes and announcements are expected in the coming weeks and months as the government updates its traffic light system to remove the obligation to self-isolate double-vaccinated passengers.
It’s a much-needed boost to an industry devastated by the pandemic with widespread job losses, wage cuts, and mass take-up of the vacation program.
The duty free zone
(Image: MEN / Kenny Brown)
Last week, unions led a protest by airport workers and airport bosses appealed to the government to get more support as the end of the vacation program quickly approaches.
When Manchester Airport Group, which also operates Stansted Airport and East Midlands, released its annual financial results last week, it found passenger numbers were down 90% year over year.
But with travel restrictions now being eased and more countries potentially being moved to the UK “green list”, Karen Smart is confident that business will rebound.
Some of the first passengers are waiting for their flight
(Image: MEN / Kenny Brown)
She said: “The aviation industry has had to lay off a large number of people but what we will see now is hopefully a return to international travel and this facility will result in more jobs being created when people return to the airport.
“Indeed, it will benefit the entire north economy.
“The aviation industry has previously recovered from a number of issues – 9/11, the SARS pandemic – so we are very confident that the industry will recover.
The view over the runway from the lounge 1903 19th
(Image: MEN / Kenny Brown)
“We are working very closely with the airlines to understand their demands and the fact that the government has now recognized our world-class vaccination program, which means people will not have to be quarantined on returning from Amber Countries if they are duplicated.” vaccinated, airlines have really been given the confidence to use more planes and more routes.
“We expect more countries to go green and there will be more international travel, so we believe now is the right time to open the terminal.
“We have always said that it will take two to three years to get back to pre-Covid levels, but airlines are getting a lot livelier on this and beyond.”
