Manchester Airport to invest £440m transforming Terminal Two - but Terminal One will close

Manchester Airport has announced a massive project which will complete the ongoing transformation of Terminal Two - but will also see Terminal One close completely.

The international travel hub says it is ploughing £440m into new facilities for passengers as it reconfigures the experience of the airport for arriving and departing passengers. The airport opened a new extension to Terminal Two in July 2021 and says the work which has been announced will bring the rest of the terminal, much of which is currently closed to travellers, up to the same standard.

This will mean that Terminal Two will become the main hub of operations for Manchester Airport, with the older Terminal One no longer being deemed necessary and closed permanently.

What has Manchester Airport announced about Terminal Two and Terminal One?

Manchester Airport has announced a £440m construction project to upgrade the older part of Terminal Two, following the opening of the new extension to T2 in July 2021.

The travel hub says the new-look terminal will have a departure lounge double the size of the previous one, an additional security hall with high-tech scanners and a new pier to look like the one which opened in 2019 which will allow more aircraft to be accommodated.

Manchester Airport is also keen to improve Terminal Two’s baggage facilities. It wants to double the hold baggage capacity to 5,000 pieces of luggage per hour and add two new teardrop-shaped check-in islands as well as four extra reclaim belts.

The airport envisages that when the work is complete in 2025 Terminal Two will become the centre of operations, with 80% of travellers using the airport passing through it. This means that Terminal One will be deemed surplus to requirements and permanently shut.

Manchester Airport says it hopes the construction work will create around 500 new jobs and the overhauled terminal will boost trade, tourism and investment in the city.

The travel hub has had a rough couple of years for passenger satisfaction following the colossal upheaval to aviation and travel caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Last year Manchester came stone bottom of a major survey by Which? ranking airports across the country for passenger experience and feedback, though the airport did contest some of the claims made. And the airport regularly made headlines for the wrong reasons due to long queues at check-in and security, which it responded to by embarking on a massive recruitment drive.