Manchester Airport set for Christmas and New Year peak - when it will be busiest and top festive travel tips

Manchester Airport is gearing up for another busy festive period. Thousands of people will be flying in and out over the coming days and weeks, heading off to Christmas and New Year plans. 

The festive period is set to follow a bumper November, during which more people used the airport than back in 2019. The airport has also identified when the busiest time at the airport will be. The 11-day period between December 22 and January 2 is predicted to be the busiest for Manchester Airport. The airport will welcome around 780,000 passengers during this period. 

This number also includes an increase in the number of people flying out to Ivalo, Kittila, Enontekio, Kuusamo and Rovaniemi in Finland. From here, you can get to Lapland - the home of Santa Claus - for winter holidays that include catching a glimpse of the Northern Lights. The Finnish airports will receive 132 flights from Manchester carrying 22,500 passengers over the course of December. 

Chris Woodroofe, managing director of Manchester Airport, said: "Here at Manchester Airport we’re really proud to serve the people of the North by playing a key part in the festive season. “Walking through the terminals at Christmas is a truly exciting experience. You can see joyful families being reunited in arrivals and departures packed with excited children on their way to Lapland. We serve more destinations than any airport outside London and that means we’re able to make Christmas wishes come true for thousands of people. “We’ve worked hard this year to make sure people’s experiences of the airport are positive. We’re now seeing demand for travel increasing beyond pre-pandemic levels but at the same time we’ve driven down the time people spend queuing to get to security to below 15 minutes for 99% of passengers. “That means I feel confident that this year’s festive flyers will get the perfect start to their journeys at Manchester Airport.”

Manchester Airport tips for Christmas and New Year travel

Ahead of the festive season, Manchester Airport has issued tips for passengers.

• Allow plenty of time for your journey to the airport and keep an eye out for service updates if you are travelling to the airport by public transport. Winter weather can cause disruption to the road and rail networks, and some public transport operators have been affected by strike action in recent months. Most airlines recommend that you arrive at the airport in time for your check-in desk opening – this will typically be two hours before departure for short-haul flights, or three hours for long-haul flights, but do check your airline’s guidance on this.

• Make the most of the space in your luggage by rolling up clothes rather than folding them and choosing versatile items that you can combine to create several different outfits while you’re away. Don’t forget winter essentials like hats, scarves, gloves, thick socks and rain jackets.

• Familiarise yourself with the security rules for hand luggage before you travel. These rules are in place to keep everyone safe and are just as important at Christmas as at any other time of year. Large electrical items like hair straighteners, laptops and iPads must be taken out of your bag and placed in a tray with nothing covering them. Liquids, gels and pastes need to be in marked containers of 100ml or less, and must be placed in a clear, resealable plastic bag with a capacity of up to 1,000ml for screening.

• Liquid medication in quantities over 100ml is permitted, but you must have a prescription with you and your name must be printed on the prescription label on the bottle. You must also declare it to a security officer.

• If you have special dietary requirements requiring you to bring liquid food, this is also allowed, provided it is declared to a security officer and you have a doctor’s letter outlining the requirement. If you have an infant you can bring through breast milk in containers of up to 2,000ml, whether the infant is travelling with you or not, but again this must be declared to a security officer. The milk cannot be in frozen form.

• Be careful that your Christmas presents don’t break the rules! The Christmas period often sees a spike in the number of items that airport security staff are forced to confiscate for not complying with the rules, as passengers travel with festive food, drink and gifts in their hand luggage. Commonly removed items range from perfume and toiletries to snow globes – because they contain liquid and it can be hard to be sure whether it is under 100ml in most cases - cranberry sauce and bottles of champagne.

• Christmas crackers should be packed in your hold luggage as most airlines will not permit them to be carried on board in hand luggage.

• Avoid gift-wrapping anything in your luggage until you reach your destination. If a bag is selected for search, security officers will need to inspect the contents – which may mean items need to be unwrapped if the security officer cannot be certain of what is inside.

• Take off outer layers of clothing before you get to the front of the security queue. You’re more likely than not to be wrapped up warm as you travel over Christmas, but staff cannot screen you with multiple layers on, so coats, jackets, hats, gloves and scarves will need to go into a tray to be scanned – and waiting until you reach the front of the queue to unbutton, unzip and take these items off can significantly slow down the process. Passengers are urged to be considerate of those behind them in the queue and take these items off once they are inside the terminal.

• If you require special assistance, make sure you book this in advance, through your airline. The airport provides special assistance services for passengers with disabilities through its partner ABM, such as mobility equipment and support staff to guide you through the terminal. While you can avail of these on the day of travel, passengers who have booked these services in advance will take priority, which could mean a long wait if you’re travelling during the busy Christmas period.