Cheap Flights from Manchester

Manchester Airport (airport code MAN) is the fourth busiest airport in the UK, and the busiest outside London. It is a major airport not only for the UK but also for Europe. The airport itself lies on the boundary between Manchester and Cheshire. With flights to some 225 destinations, Manchester Airport has surpassed even London's busy airports and now has more direct flights than either Heathrow or Gatwick, although many of Manchester's routes are charter or seasonal flights. What this means for you is that finding a cheap flight for your next holiday should not be much trouble.

Several charter airlines use Manchester Airport as their primary base of operations, including First Choice Airways, My Travel, Thomas Cook and Thomsonfly. Additionally, airlines like Flybe, Jet2, bmibaby, XL Airways, Monarch Airlines, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic Airways and Pakistan International Airlines maintain a secondary hub at Manchester. The biggest international hub, however, is for British airline bmi, which offers flights to more than 30 cities worldwide from Manchester Airport.

The airlines with the busiest departure schedules leaving Manchester Airport are Jet2.com, Monarch Airlines, MyTravel, Thomas Cook Airlines, First Choice Airways, Astraeus, Thomsonfly, XL Airways and Flybe, but you can browse the entire list of destinations served from Manchester here. You can also locate each airline based on the terminal from which they operate on this list.

There are several methods for reaching the airport, which is about 20 minutes by car from Manchester's city centre. The airport is off the M56 motorway at junction 5. There is a direct train between the airport and Piccadilly and Oxford Road stations, and National Express has coach service to and from the airport as well. Rail service between the airport and Manchester should only improve now that construction is underway on a third platform at the airport's railway station, and plans are on the table to connect Manchester Piccadilly with the airport via Metrolink light rail. You can more fully investigate your transport options with the links on this page.

Getting around Manchester Airport is rather easy thanks to the skywalk which connects all three terminals. The skywalk also links the terminals with the airport's railway station and other nearby facilities. In case you need assistance, however, there are a variety of maps here to guide you through the airport complex.