Slightly belatedly, as are most of my posts at present, here is the report from Chris Woodroofe, Managing Director of Manchester Airport, at the meeting held on Friday 14th July.
Manchester Airport Consultative Committee
Meeting Date – 14th July 2023
REPORT OF THE MANAGING DIRECTOR
1. INTRODUCTION
As you will read throughout this report, operational performance has been positive over the last quarter. June
saw our busiest day since September 2019, with 100,061 passengers using Manchester Airport. Many of these
passengers were Manchester City supporters travelling to Istanbul for the Champions League Final, which
included an additional 40 flights. Overall, May saw 2,505,177 passengers – an increase of 15.5% compared to
May 2022. This included half term and the Eurovision Song Contest, with the airport hosting delegations from 23
different countries.
The most popular destination in May was Palma followed by Alicante and Amsterdam, with April’s most popular
destination, Dubai, coming in fourth.
Despite the increase in traffic, security queuing times remained low with 96.6% of passengers getting through
into the departure lounge in 15 minutes or less in May.
From a routes point of view, we were pleased to announce Virgin Atlantic’s resumption of their service to Las
Vegas, which will fly from June 2nd, 2024. EgyptAir have also announced five-times-weekly flights from
Manchester to Cairo from 15th July, meaning Manchester will offer direct connection to Egypt’s capital for the
first time since 2015.
Since our last meeting, we are pleased to have commenced work on the construction of a new pier, which will
connect to Terminal 2. This is the most significant new structure being built in the final phase of the airport’s
£1.3bn Transformation Programme. This will provide 12 new spacious boarding gates and flexible aircraft stands
for next-generation aircraft.
We also passed a major milestone with the Community Trust Fund surpassing £4m of donations. Members may
have also seen activity celebrating the 85th anniversary of the airport. This includes the reincarnation of one of
the old Terminal 1 chandeliers, which will be moved to Terminal 2. We are also pleased to be supporting this
year’s Manchester Day as part of the celebrations.
Our focus remains on ensuring passengers can travel through Manchester Airport in the peak of the summer
season confident that they will have a smooth and efficient experience.
2. GOVERNMENT ENGAGEMENT AND POLICY
Political Engagement: In the last quarter, we have met with several different politicians on a wide range of issues,
including: HS2 (due to the Greater Manchester committee hearings), long haul connectivity and the promotion
of the Community Trust Fund. This has included meetings or attending events with:
• Mike Kane (Shadow Aviation Minister and Wythenshawe and Sale East)
• Andrew Western (Stretford and Urmston)
• Jonathan Reynolds (Shadow Business Secretary)
• Andy Carter (Warrington South)
• Chris Clarkson (Heywood and Middleton)
• Christian Wakeford (Bury South)
• Iain Stewart (Chair of the Transport Select Committee)
• Jeff Smith (Shadow Tourism Minister and Manchester Withington)
• Navendu Mishra (Stockport)
• Rachel Reeves (Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer)
• Gareth Thomas (Harrow West)
• Lord Goddard of Stockport
The next quarter in terms of political engagement will mostly be focused on the political party conferences taking
place in October, where we will be promoting Manchester Airport’s economic impact.
Sustainability: The Committee on Climate Change published their latest biennial progress report to Parliament.
We continue to remain resolute in meeting our goal of net zero operations by 2038. We continue to push the
sector to meet its 2050 goal. The Sustainable Aviation Decarbonisation Roadmap has been updated and this
confirmed that the higher level of growth forecast by the Government is compatible with net zero emissions by
2050. In the past quarter, we have had meetings with Fulcrum Bioenergy (who will provide sustainable aviation
fuel directly to the airport), the North West Hydrogen Alliance and the North West Business Leadership Team
about the importance of making progress on our journey towards net zero.
HS2 and surface access: Manchester City Council and Transport for Greater Manchester were in front of the HS2
Bill Committee earlier this month, and we continue to ensure the airport’s voice is represented in this debate.
We have been working collaboratively with both organisations and Andy Clarke (Head of Corporate Affairs) spoke
at two events on the importance of HS2, ran by Pro-Manchester and Northern Powerhouse Partnership. We are
continuing to negotiate with HS2 on our own concerns, but do not have a substantive update to share with
members on this occasion. More widely on surface access, we continue to sit as part of the Bee Network
Partnership Board and meet with Vernon Everitt (Greater Manchester Transport Commissioner) and his team to
discuss how the airport can form part of this broader network.
Route Development: We held an event where several northern Destination Marketing Organisations and some
of our closest partners, such as Marketing Manchester, MIDAS and other businesses across the North with
representation from Cheshire, Peak District, Lancashire, Merseyside, Cumbria and Yorkshire. This event was
focused on demonstrating: the progress that the airport operation has made, highlighting our plans to recover
some of the routes yet to resume since the pandemic and how the impact of these routes is felt across the North.
From a political and business engagement perspective, we have focused this quarter on the importance of US
route recovery, and this has seen us work with Greater Manchester Combined Authority, the Department for
Business and Trade and the British American Business Network.
Economic and social contribution of the airport: We have commissioned a report with ARUP which explore the
role of Manchester Airport in supporting economies and communities across the North. The study will bring
together a compelling narrative and evidence-led story on the impact the airport provides locally, regionally and
nationally. It will also consider how Government can support the airport and how we can drive increased
prosperity. The report is due to be complete in September and we will bring an update to members at the next
available opportunity.
NASSCOM: We recently signed a memorandum of understanding with NASSCOM, an Indian trade association.
This will promote innovation, investment and technological exchange between Greater Manchester and India. It
will provide small Indian technology companies with access to office space at the airport. This is an important
next step in the support we provide the Manchester India Partnership and builds a base of businesses who will
encourage the return of Indian routes.
3. PLANNING MATTERS
Changes to the Planning System. Responses were submitted to consultation on changes to planning
application fees and extensions to permitted development rights. In respect of the increases to planning fees,
our response stated that we accepted the increase provided the proposed outcomes were delivered. This
would include increasing the level of funding available to local authority planning departments to improve their
performance levels. With the increase in permitted development rights for solar installations, we were clear
that aerodrome safeguarding concerns still needed to be considered and therefore proposed that any
extensions to permitted rights should be subject to prior approval.
Places for Everyone – The examination process has now concluded. In respect of the airport, the inspectors
examined ‘Policy JP Strat 10 Manchester Airport’ at a session on 25th November, Policy JPA 3.2 Timperley
Wedge on 18th January and Policy JPA10 Global Logistics 2 on 2nd March. Transcripts of the sessions are
available to view on the examination’s website,
www.hwa.uk.com/projects/gmca. Since the last meeting the
Examination Inspectors have issued an ‘Action Note’ in respect of the Global Logistics allocation, which
recommends modifications that they believe need to be made to make the plan sound and legally compliant.
They have recommended that the allocation be withdrawn from the Plan. We await the response from the
Combined Authority and Manchester City Council.
Airport or near Airport developments
• A planning application to carry out amendments to Terminal 3 to accommodate new security screening
equipment (which is incapable of being accommodated within the existing building footprint) has been
submitted.
• Airport City North: the 412 room Accor Tribe Hotel on land to the rear of the Station and Voyager
officer building has ‘topped out’, with completion expected prior to summer season 2024.
• A planning application for a 216-bedroom extension to the Clayton Hotel has been lodged. Its design,
form and massing are to match the previous extension that was built in 2005/6.
• CTI proposals to redevelop sheds and facilities at World Freight Terminal continue at pace. The first
two schemes to redevelop the former LSG Sky Chefs building (Building 401) and the adjacent building
to provide two terraces of logistics units are nearing completion (131892/FO/2021 and
133390/FO/2022). A planning application for the redevelopment of the existing units on either side of
Argosy Drive to provide three terraces of logistics units is currently with Manchester City Council for
determination (MCC Planning reference: 134103/FO/2022). Finally, a planning application to redevelop
the site of Hangar 4 for an airport-related freight and logistics unit has been made (136879/FO/2023).
• A planning application has been submitted for the redevelopment of the former Ferranti site for
approximately 360,000 sq.ft of logistics floorspace (MCC reference 135952/FO/2023). The decision on
this is outstanding.
4. MANCHESTER AIRPORT TRANSFORMATION PROGRAMME (MAN-TP)
The MAN-TP team celebrated the ground-breaking of Pier 2, the largest piece of new infrastructure being built
as part of phase two of the programme. Over the past few months, the site compound has been erected, and
the first ground works have now commenced. Modern construction methodology is being used to speed up
delivery and reduce embodied carbon. Core components of the new pier will be prefabricated off-site to
achieve these time savings. The site will be turned into a landside environment in the coming weeks to make it
easier and quicker to construct on site.
Furthermore, demolition of the former departure lounge and security halls is progressing well, and once
complete, steel will be installed ahead of constructing the additional floor levels.
In the original Arrivals Hall, works are ongoing behind hoarding to demolish the redundant retail units and the
former Ground Level check-in will be removed in the coming weeks.
Finally, in relation to the baggage works package, the East Pier arrivals corridor has now been refurbished. This
matches the look and feel of the extension. A new substation is nearing completion, which will provide power
for the extended baggage system and terminal. Three new CTX screening machines have been installed and
completed commissioning, along with two sorters being installed and commissioned.
5. OPERATIONAL DATA
On Time Performance (OTP)
Departure on-time performance depends on several factors including weather, airfield operations and technical
issues. Monthly performance for the past financial year across all flight types was:
View attachment 28860
6. OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENT – ROUTES AND SERVICES UPDATE
During the quarter, 7.47m passengers travelled through Manchester Airport. This is 94% of 2019 levels and an
increase of 15% compared to 2022.
This translates to 91% of 2019 levels in April, 95% in May and 95% in June. This recovery was largely driven by
low-cost carriers, who continued to grow capacity ahead of their full service carriers competitors, in line with
the recovery of short haul markets outpacing long haul. Despite the above trend, there were a number of long-
haul carriers that achieved passenger volumes significantly above pre-Covid levels in the quarter, including
Emirates, Turkish Airlines, Qatar Airways and Ethiopian Airlines.
There have been a number of developments for our network, including:
• Virgin Atlantic announced on 1st June that they would relaunch their seasonal summer service to Las
Vegas from June 2024, operating the route three times weekly with an A350. They also recommenced
their Manchester – Atlanta flights from June 2023.
• Egypt Air confirmed in May that they received permission from the CAA to operate from Manchester
and will launch a five times weekly service to Cairo from July.
• Air Canada operating a five times weekly A330 service to Toronto through the summer.
• Ethiopian Airlines increased their Addis Ababa (via Geneva) service from four to five weekly in June,
representing their largest ever programme from Manchester.
• Norwegian launched a new three times weekly Manchester – Copenhagen service in June.
• In April, Gulf Air announced a doubling of their frequency from May and the carrier now offers four
weekly flights to Bahrain.
• In May, Air Transat add an additional frequency to Toronto to bring their schedule up to four a week,
which will increase to six by August.
• SunExpress also added significant capacity to Turkish leisure destinations in June as their full summer
programme came into effect.
• In June, Ryanair announced they would start to fly to Tirana (Albania) from the winter 2023 season.
• Unfortunately, Eastern confirmed in April that they would cease operations to Southampton until
September.
7. CAR PARKING & SURFACE ACCESS
Landside Operations
• For the period April 2023 - June 2023 vehicle movements across the three terminals were 704,206,
representing a 4% increase on the same period in 2022.
• The landside control room assisted 255,406 customers via our car park/forecourt intercoms during
April 23 – June 23, representing an 18% reduction on the same period in 2022.
• Recruitment activity for traffic marshals is now complete.
• Landside NPS continues to remain high when compared across the group, currently running at 50.1%.
Customer Transport
• Customer Transport continued to operate bus services for a range of car park products (both
customers and staff) and Car Rental Village landside. Demand continued to be robust across all
services.
• Volume recruitment was complete for bus drivers in May, with a focus on airside driver training
through the quarter to increase airside and landside drivers.
• One additional vehicle was delivered in early June, with a further seven scheduled for delivery in
July/August, completing the FY24 fleet requirements.
• Airside services have delivered the remote plan to schedule, with performance broadly stable at 95%
for the quarter.
• JetParks 3 extension, Jet Parks 1 and Jet Parks Ringway have all opened as planned. Further reviews
have been undertaken to maximise capacity as we move into the next quarter.
Car Parking:
• All car parks are averaging 98% occupancy during the peak periods of the quarter.
• Meet & Greet and Drop & Go car parks remain a popular choice with customers. NPS has been sustained
at a high level, with an overall score of 50.
• Recruitment activity was complete in May, with the operational plan to supplement our core plan with
agency staff to support peak periods in Meet & Greet/Drop & Go.
Rail:
• TransPennine Express (TPE): The Secretary of State for Transport brought TPE into the Operator of Last
Resort in May. This means TPE is now operating on the same basis as Northern, which was taken into
the operator of last resort in March 2020. A recovery plan is being put in place for TransPennine to try
to restore the poor service levels. Whilst there had not been a notable further deterioration in service,
the improvements promised were also not being delivered. TransPennine are continuing to operate a
reduced service, pre-cancelling services on a daily basis. There continues to be an amended temporary
timetable for routes to Scotland. We are working collaboratively with them to ensure the recovery plan
provides real improvements for our passengers and colleagues.
• Industrial action: This continues to affect the industry nationally and it has had an impact on airport
services. Between 3 and 8 July, ASLEF (train drivers) implemented a rest-day working and overtime ban
as part of their ongoing dispute over pay, which has affected TransPennine and Northern. RMT (train
guards) are striking again on 20, 22 and 29 July, meaning very limited services will operate, as per
previous strike days.
• TransPennine Route Upgrade: This programme continues, which will support service improvements
along the route into the airport. Ongoing engineering work results in rail service amendments and
replacement bus operations, typically at weekends. Late evening engineering works have been in place
from 3rd July, seeing replacement buses in operation on the Airport route (amongst others).
• Metrolink free travel: This offer for all rail ticket holders across Manchester city centre has ended.
Unless Manchester Central Zone (CTLZ) is the destination on the rail ticket, in which case Metrolink
services can continue to be used, passengers wishing to travel across the city centre will need to either
purchase a Zone 1 Metrolink ticket, use the Freebus services, take the Transpennine train between
Piccadilly and Victoria (1 per hour) or walk.
• Bus: We continue to work with TfGM to improve the bus services to the airport. The ongoing shortage
of drivers, however, is a major block to successful implementation. We have funded an additional
vehicle for the Local Link fleet, which will be available in July. At the same time, TfGM have increased
the catchment area for Local Link services to the airport.
• Coach: National Express continue to increase the number of services calling at the airport, with new
routes coming online in July.
8. MOBILITY SERVICES
PRM performance has been very strong throughout the quarter with all performance measures exceeding our
CAA targets, passing the CAA published threshold for a ‘Very Good’ rating. Despite May and June being our
busiest months of the year so far, performance remained strong in all targets.
ABM headcount has met new contractual levels from 1st April, which is a 40% increase in customer facing roles.
Despite already meeting headcount, ABM are continuing recruitment through the summer to stay ahead of
target in preparation for our next busy peak in September/October.
Three new ambulifts are due to arrive in July, meaning we will have our biggest ever fleet of ambulifts. In
addition, a further 60 wheelchairs have been delivered, contributing to improved service levels.
The CAA are due to publish their annual airport accessibility rating report in July. We have not been informed
of our rating, but we have worked closely with them over the last year.
9. STAFFING CHANGES
View attachment 28861
10. CUSTOMER INSIGHT & SECURITY ISSUES
Customer Feedback
During the reporting period, Manchester has seen an increase in feedback across the months with passenger
volumes increasing as we go into the summer season. The team received a total of 7,725 cases during the
reporting period, a considerable increase from 5,495 in the previous January to March period, and a decrease
from 10,698 during the same period last year. The data insights have been shared with the local teams to
facilitate improvements.
Social Media update for April - June:
Over the reporting period, our social media channels have seen 23,838 messages. Additionally, we welcomed
5,429 new followers across our social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn). The
sentiment analysis shows that the predominant sentiment was neutral, suggesting that we have been
maintaining a consistent brand image. We also launched several campaigns during this period including
Manchester Airport’s brand-new podcast series, MAN-TP Phase Two works commencing, and 85th birthday
content including a competition, which garnered significant attention on our channels.
View attachment 28862
11. COMMUNITY MATTERS
Outreach takes off
As part of our commitment to listen to local voices, Wythenshawe residents had the chance to talk to our
Community Engagement Team at the ‘Woodhouse Park Drop In’ event at the Lifestyle Centre. These sessions
are held in conjunction with ward councillors, council neighbourhood teams, police and Wythenshawe Housing
Group. Rogue parking and taxis waiting were the most predominant issues.
The Community Engagement Team also attended the Mobberley Rose Queen event and the Royal County
Cheshire Show to provide opportunities for members of the public raise any airport-related questions. They
also ventured to the NEST in Sharston to promote the Community Trust Fund at a charity celebration event,
where the team enjoyed meeting past grant recipients and potential future applicants. MAN Immigration By Channel
Neighbourhood issues
Following dialogue with a neighbouring Parish Council, some refreshed ‘considerate parking’ signage has been
installed in local hot spots.
Repairs have been undertaken to the surface at the entrance to the Private Hire Holding area (following
feedback from users) and revised welcome / directional signs have been commissioned. We have also
contributed financially to further street signage / way finding and these are awaiting installation by Manchester
City Council. These steps are being taken to aid our work in
reducing the incidence of nuisance taxis waiting near
residential areas.
Community Trust Fund (CTF)
At the April meeting of the CTF, 19 grants were approved
totalling £24,635.19. This meeting saw the Community
Trust Fund surpassing £4 million of donations to
community projects and local charities since it began in
1997.
Volunteering
Recently members of my leadership team
supported local neighbour Quarry Bank Mill by
spending an afternoon litter picking. This is an
important demonstration of leading by example
to ensure we meet our target of 100% of leaders
participating in volunteering.
New charity partners announced
We have relaunched MAG charity partnerships, ensuring we are making a difference to those who need it
most. This includes an ambitious target of raising more than £150,00 a year.
Manchester Airport Academy
The Airport Academy at Manchester Airport supports local residents into careers at Manchester Airport. The
team over the last quarter has organised 50 outreach events, including large scale jobs fairs and engaging with
airport employers to assess actual job opportunities. From April to June, the academy has: trained 81 people,
placed 56 into roles across the airport through employability training and converted 64% of people from
unemployed to employed. They have seen 360 Greater Manchester residents referred to them for support and
guidance.
Education / AeroZone
Since April 2023, 723 students have visited the AeroZone. The facility is fully booked for the remainder of the
current academic year and is 95% full for the next year running to July 2024.
Numbers at Work
Recognising the requirement for numeracy skills from a lot of employers, we are pleased to support BW3 and
other local employers in delivering this programme for children aged 10-11. Volunteers from the airport’s
Finance, Education and Public Affairs teams had a great time participating in this event at Peel Hall Primary
School and Manor Park Primary School this term. Sessions take place throughout the academic year.
Meet the Authors
We were pleased to launch a complementary book, made up of 14 stories and poems from nine different
schools, called the ‘Little Book of Travel Tales’. We invited the young authors to come and celebrate their work
and hand out the books to our young passengers ahead of their half term holiday.
Kids at Work Day
We hosted 60 children who were able to see where their parents and guardians work. This provided exposure
to the work environment, including a tour of the airfield, air traffic control tower and the runway, but allowed
colleagues to share their genuine passion for the aviation industry.
Aviation Apprenticeship scheme
Manchester Airport recently launched a first-of-its-kind apprenticeship scheme. The programme creates a new
route for future airport leaders to embark on a career in aviation. The two-year scheme will give students
experience of all the elements of an airport operation. Upon successful completion, apprentices will then be
offered permanent roles at the airport, with opportunities to progress into team-leader positions and beyond
as they develop through their careers.
Delivered in partnership with Trafford College, the apprenticeship will be the equivalent of a foundation degree
or the first year of an undergraduate degree, with at least 30 students completing the programme, debt-free.
Launching the scheme is one part of our Developing Talent strategy and a central part of the Opportunity for
All pillar in our CSR Strategy. Places on the maiden apprenticeship course have been initially offered exclusively
to anyone over the age of 18 in surrounding communities and promoted to local school sixth forms and
colleges, as part of the airport’s commitment to providing opportunities to those closest.
Supported Internship Programme
Six young people with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) celebrated graduating from Manchester
Airport’s supported internships programme earlier this month. The programme, run by Pure Innovations in
partnership with Manchester Airport and The Manchester College, runs for a year, during which interns are
supported to do three different placements around the airport. It gives young people who ordinarily might find
it difficult to gain employment the opportunity to have on-the-job training. Several of the graduates have
secured jobs at the airport with others taking jobs at external companies or considering offers.
12. FUTURE AIRSPACE
In Stage 3, we have a great deal of work to complete to build a network of route options that can work
together, safely and efficiently, to arrive and depart aircraft.
As we have outlined to members in previous communications and presentations, the current Manchester
Airport (MAN)/Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LPL) air traffic interactions are managed through the tactical
intervention of Air Traffic Controllers at both airports. Through the Future Airspace project, we are seeking to
reduce such interventions by applying more systemisation to our operations. At a workshop last year, seven
interactions were identified between the MAN route options (we were at the time engaging upon) and the LPL
route options that they had consulted upon (in 2020). The shortlist of design options we carried through to
Stage 3, earlier this year, benefited from extensive engagement with stakeholders including the 2022
workshop. Therefore, we have some confidence that the basket of route options we submitted to the CAA
include sufficient flexibility to be compatible with proposals emerging from other (such as LPL) change sponsors
(in so far as they were known at the time).
LPL returned to Stage 2 of the CAP1616 earlier this year (they had progressed as far as Stage 4) and as a result
they have been able to engage with ourselves, and other stakeholders on additional options. We compiled and
sent a formal response on 31st May suggesting some further improvements. In June we held a design workshop
with LPL, NATS Enroute and ACOG. We were able to examine concepts to remove interactions before LPL
submit for their Stage 2 Gateway. Once the CAA are content with the LPL submission and they have progressed
to Stage 3 we will be able to continue this process. These pre-Stage 3 discussions will be formally detailed in a
process known as Cumulative Analysis Framework (CAF) which will examine and details any trade-offs in
design. We will keep Members updated as we progress further.
13. MANCHESTER AIRPORT IN THE NEWS
Key Announcements
• Key announcements made in Q2 included the appointment of Ken O’Toole as CEO of MAG, effective
from 1st October. The Manchester Airport press office played a supporting role, sharing a regionalised
version of the MAG press release with selected media.
• Two major announcements were made in relation to MANTP – the launch of a retail tender process for
27 new units in the refurbished part of the terminal, and groundbreaking on what will become
Terminal Two’s second pier. In both cases the Press Office issued press releases to regional and
selected trade outlets.
• We marked a successful Easter getaway with a press release highlighting improved operational
performance and set up regional radio interviews with Jennifer Byrne-Smith on the back of this.
• The airport found itself at the centre of two high-profile events in May and June – the Eurovision final,
held in Liverpool but facilitated by dozens of chartered flights into Manchester, and Man City’s
Champions League final victory in Istanbul. Both events attracted national media interest and we
hosted a range of broadcast media in Terminal Two who wished to speak to fans ahead of the
Champions League final, as well as working collaboratively with the wider comms team to lay on
supportive messages and graphics on FIDS screens, plus facilitating Man City’s media tam capturing
images of the first-team squad returning.
• May also saw the launch of the airport’s innovative Podcast series, Manchester: Your Airport, MAN.
The six-part series was recorded over March, April and early May, taking listeners behind the scenes,
and has already attracted several thousand subscribers.
CSR Activity
• In addition to providing support on the aforementioned launch of an apprenticeship scheme and the
Community Trust Fund £4m donations story, we collaborated with Mace on a volunteering project at
the not-for-profit Pendlebury Centre, supported by a photo op and a press release. We also issued a
press release in support of the airport’s Wythenshawe Forum jobs fair in April.
Route Promotion
We have worked with a number of airlines to promote route launches (mentioned above), relaunches or
expansions of existing services over Q2. Highlights included Hainan Airlines, who announced in April they would
be quadrupling the frequency of flights to Beijing; Virgin Atlantic, who revealed they would be bringing back a
direct Las Vegas service from next summer; Egypt Air, who bring back a Cairo service after an eight-year hiatus;
and EasyJet, who announced a new ski season service to Grenoble for this winter.
Reactive issues
The Press Office handled a total of 93 reactive media queries over the last quarter. May saw a number of
operational issues which drew regional and national media attention, including a power cut in Terminal Three,
a national e-gate outage at the border, and a baggage system failure in Terminal Three. Each of these attracted
a multitude of reactive media queries, but each seems to have been acknowledged in reporting as a one-off
issue in its own right, as opposed to being indicative of any wider problem, which bodes well for more balanced
reporting of any issues we may face over the busy summer.
We also saw a significant uptick in reporting around disruptive passenger incidents, with eight separate stories
concerning disruptive behaviour from passengers on flights into or out of Manchester, and each of these were
picked up by multiple outlets. Where necessary, we have pointed media queries in the direction of the Police
or the airline concerned.
