Manchester Airport Nostalgia

[jfy1999]

Manchester Airport 30/07/1995​

 

[David_itl]

8th February 1992 when the massed ranks of 747s came to Manchester, Woke up and heard the Nigerian A310 on frequency 121.025 being transferred to approach, Me and my brother made a relative beeline for the airport (as best you can when you've a 30 minute bus journey). He read the registrations and I noted them down. Here's the log I made and an indication where all the diversions parked - apologies for the handwriting!

 

[Land23R]

Gosh, 29 years ago. Ringway Publications CD shows diversions between 06.26 (BA174) and 10.42. Of those 24, there 19 x B747s; 2 x DC10s, and an A310.
As David points out, we had our own wide body a/c on the ground as well, including the Air Hong Kong 747, in the days when MAN could handle wide body freighters because it had the equipment. Not sure when I arrived but was on the MSCP with dozens of others.

Someone may correct me but I suspect 20 x B747s on the ground at once was a record, as I don't think any had left when the last one came in.

Many thanks for the reminder David.

 

[David_itl]

That's my recollection as well - all 20 on the ground with one of the Qantas pair taxiing out as the last one landed.

The 1st fin that me and my brother saw as we got off the bus was the American 747SP.

How fortunate we were to have gone through an era where Cat 3 operations were not as widespread as they are now.

 

[Jamman]

How fortunate we were to have gone through an era where Cat 3 operations were not as widespread as they are now.

I was wondering about this - was it LHR wasn't capable or was it the aircraft?

I wish I could have been there for that day!

 

[David_itl]

I'm going to say it's probably the pilots who may not have got the Cat 3 landing certification - 4 747-400s diverted in, over 2 years since the 1st time a 747-400 diverted in (13th Nov 89?). I'm pretty sure that I once read that the decision height for landing in fog in a 747-400 was a princely 12 feet, and I would have expected LHR is be Cat 3b capable given it's importance.

 

[KARFA]

cat 3a you still need a RVR of 200m and your decision height is 50ft.

cat3b no decision height and RVR of 75m needed.

 

[Land23R]

Cat 3 requires runway, aircraft and crew capability, so as David mentions, probably crew certification for the newer B747s.
Don't recall any issues with LHR's ILS that day so the older a/c may not have been certified to Cat3.

My impression is that back in the 80's/90's it wasn't uncommon to have RVR's below 300m (Cat2 minima) and even below 200m (Cat3A minima) for quite extensive periods, whereas nowadays, RVRs tend to fluctuate more and even in extensive fog at LHR are often 300-400m.

 

[jfy1999]

SPD Travels: 10 aircraft in the line up here, and not one of the planes and/or liveries are in existence today.
https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1360654814024241161

 

[David_itl]

on the back of Land23R's mention of a Manchester Diversions CD, I almost broke the habit of a lifetime and ordered said CD. Memories flooding back - prior to my close-call incident 12 years ago, i used to keep lever arch file comprising a handwritten log of all the diverted aircraft but moving to my current flat meant a lot of stuff had to be chucked out including the lever arch file. tomorrow's the other momentous 747 diversion spectacular but on reviewing what arrived on 27th April 1993, I'll swear blind there must have been some time travel diversions from the late 1960s:

3 Electras
1 Dc6
1 VC10
1 Vanguard
1 Dc9-15

 

[jfy1999]

A variety of 767-200s.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1368180132205244420

 

[Scottie Dog]

Sunday Nostalgia: Manchester's Ringway Airport Then and Now | InYourArea

Welcome to Then and Now, where each week we compare images of Manchester streets, landmarks, buildings and events from bygone days with today.

www.inyourarea.co.uk

Sunday Nostalgia: Manchester's Ringway Airport Then and Now​

Welcome to Then and Now, where each week we compare images of Manchester streets, landmarks, buildings and events from bygone days with today.

16 March 2021

By InYourArea Community​

Photo: Scenes at Manchester Airport, June 13, 1967 (C) Mirrorpix
Our main image this week shows a scene not witnessed for months in the current Covid lockdown – a family getting ready to jet off to the sun from Manchester’s Ringway Airport.
The date is June 1967 and there’s clearly excitement in the air. Under the ornate pendant lights – remember them? – a young boy carries a beach ball while his sister waits patiently with her parents for their flight to be announced.

Photo: Scenes at Manchester Airport, June 13, 1967 (C) Mirrorpix

Everyone is dressed in their best, which used to be the case when flying. Nowadays we favour more casual and comfortable attire.
138208646014
The 1960s and early 1970s were very much the jet era at Ringway.
The first transatlantic flight operated by British Overseas Air Corporation (BOAC) started in 1963, reaching America via Prestwick.
The extension of the runway in 1969 allowed aircraft to take off with a full payload and fly direct to Canada.

Ringway expanded throughout the 1960s until it achieved the milestone of handling more than two million passengers in 1971.
The link road connecting the airport to the M56 motorway was opened in 1972. Three years later Ringway was renamed Manchester International Airport.
In 2019, Manchester was the third busiest passenger airport in the UK. Its three terminals are much quieter now as our image taken during Coronavirus restrictions clearly shows.

Quieter scenes at Manchester International Airport with strict COVID-19 measures in place

Hopefully families – as they did in our 1960s photo - will soon be able to fly from Manchester on much-needed holidays once again.

 

[David_itl]

Time to revisit the world of lost commuter routes from the 1980s/1990s. There really were some weird and wacky services that we had

Air Ecosse/Business Air used Emb110s Aberdeen and/or Dundee.
Metropolitan Airways who operated for Dan Air on routes like Bournemouth–Cardiff/Birmingham–Manchester–Newcastle
Cas Air used Ce404 on Teesside-MAN with Air Kilroe doing ICI charters on that same route then opened it out to a 4 daily J31 (and they also did Cardiff-MAN for a while)
Suckling Airlines who did Ipswich-MAN which moved to RAF Wattisham when Ipswich was closed and introduced MAN-AMS (yes, we had KLM 737s, BA 737s, EI 737s on the route at the time). They then went to Cambridge, Many a time at MAN I saw their AMS and CBG services depart within 30 seconds of each other)
Malinair used Do228 on Donegal-MAN
Air Wales operated Do228 on CWL-MAN
Interline used J31s on NWI-MAN,
New Air of Denmark operated BLL-MAN using J31s
Regional Airlines of France did Le Havre-MAN on J31s
NFD of Germany (later Air Europe Germany) operated Metros on Hannover-MAN
Can't remember the name of the airline that operated Bremen-MAN for a 4 to 5 month period (well before Ryanair did) who averaged roughly 3 or 4 passengers per flight
In the sub-19 seat category, we have Air Furness that operated Islanders 4 daily on Barrow-MAN (and had plans to operate from Welshpool and Caernarfon to MAN and think Enniskillen was thought about)
And finally a short-lived outfit Northern Air Line that operated up to 3 daily on Blackpool-MAN using Islanders

 

[Scottie Dog]

Thank you David for revitalising my memory cells!! Air Furness and Air Wales certainly come to mind and I suspect that if you went back far enough you could also include also include Morton Air Services, who I seem to recall served Sandown on the Isle of Wight and also Mercury Airways although I forget their route.

 

[Ginga]

If I remember correctly, MAN was served by Ellan Vannin airlines to Bournemouth during the mid to late 80's also.

 

[Scottie Dog]

Manchester (Ringway) Airport is 83 years old today.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1408377219655868422

 

[Jamman]

Found this when clearing out the loft... note the Island peir in the 1997 plans...

 

[jfy1999]

Video from 2006 featuring 747s from Pullmantur Air and Cathay Cargo, 767s from Zoom, Air Italy, American, Delta, Excel, a 737 from SkyEurope and a rare Snowflake Airlines MD-82,

 

[David_itl]

30 years ago today (12th Jan 92) and these were diverted here. In alphabetical order
French Be200
Aer Lingus 737 x2
Aerolineas Argentinas 747
Air Algerie 737
Alitalia DC9
American Airlines DC10
Bangladesh Biman DC10
Britannia 767
British Airways HS748, DC10, 747 and 767
BWIA L1011
Emirates A300
Iberia DC9 + 727 x2
Kuwait Airways 747
Manx Airlines ATP x2
Northwest 747
Olympic Airlines A300
TNT Bae 146
Tunis Air A320
TWA 747
United Airlines 747 + 727 x3
Virgin Atlantic 747

 

[David_itl]

Was busy entertaining my brother yesterday so 15th Jan 1997 will feature later. Instead cast your mind back to today in 1988 when 48 diiversions came our way. Listed it 2 ways, once by time of arrival and the other the arline + type. Lookng at the airlines and types make you realise how aviation has changed.

Arrival time + number of aircraft
0100-0159 3
0400-0459 1
0500-0559 1
0600-0659 2
0700-0759 2
0900-0959 1
1000-1059 3
1200-1259 1
1500-1559 2
1600-1659 2
1700-1759 4
1800-1859 7
1900-1959 5
2000-2059 11
2100-2159 3
2200-2259 1


US Bizjet 1 x Gulf 4
UK unknown airlnies 1 x Emb110 1 x C421
Aer Lingus 1 x Sh360, 1 x 1-11
Air Atlantique 1 x DC6
Air Europe 3 x 737
Britannia 1 x 737
British Airtours 1 x L1011
British Airways 2 x 1-11
British Caledonian 1 x 1-11
Cal Air 2 x DC10
Dan Air 1 x A300, 5 x 1-11, 2 x 727, 2 x 737
Euroair 2 Emb100
Gama Aviation 1 x Be200
Grosvenor Aviation 2 x Pa31
Iberia 1 x A300, 1 x DC9
JAT 1 x 727
London European 1 x 1-11
Manx Airlines 1 x Viscount
National Airlines 1 x Emb110, 1 x Be200
Orion 1 x A300. 5 x 737
Paramount 1 x MD83
Qantas 1 x 747
Ryanair 2 x 1-11
Woodgate Aviation 1 x Pa23