Is Manchester airport the worst in Europe?

[ell]

Manchester Airport has it's faults many faults, but you really have to take the pandemic into account, thousands of staff left or were layed off over the last couple of years, and today recruitment is going on all over the airport, once upon a time we would advertise jobs and for every job there would be 20 applicants, at the moment people just don't seem interested in working at the airport, the pay and shift patterns are not very appealing, not bad but could be better, the companies that work at the airport are skint,

Many passengers book through buget airlines get the cheapest fares possible, these buget airlines just don't pay alot to the handling company's but take up vast resources

as for the issues at security, again imo it's down to shortages in staffing levels, that again is down partly to the pandemic and attraction of the pay,conditions and shifts ,I'm off to work in a minute off to the "worst airport in the world " and I fucking love it ,

Is there a reason they let so many staff go during the pandemic? (Considering furlough)

 

[RobMCFC]

Manchester Airport has it's faults many faults, but you really have to take the pandemic into account, thousands of staff left or were layed off over the last couple of years, and today recruitment is going on all over the airport, once upon a time we would advertise jobs and for every job there would be 20 applicants, at the moment people just don't seem interested in working at the airport, the pay and shift patterns are not very appealing, not bad but could be better, the companies that work at the airport are skint,

Many passengers book through buget airlines get the cheapest fares possible, these buget airlines just don't pay alot to the handling company's but take up vast resources

as for the issues at security, again imo it's down to shortages in staffing levels, that again is down partly to the pandemic and attraction of the pay,conditions and shifts ,I'm off to work in a minute off to the "worst airport in the world " and I fucking love it ,

I understand that it's down to staffing levels post-pandemic, I just don't understand why other UK airports aren't suffering the same horrendous delays.

 

[kevin horlocks wand]

Manchester Airport has it's faults many faults, but you really have to take the pandemic into account, thousands of staff left or were layed off over the last couple of years, and today recruitment is going on all over the airport, once upon a time we would advertise jobs and for every job there would be 20 applicants, at the moment people just don't seem interested in working at the airport, the pay and shift patterns are not very appealing, not bad but could be better, the companies that work at the airport are skint,

Many passengers book through buget airlines get the cheapest fares possible, these buget airlines just don't pay alot to the handling company's but take up vast resources

as for the issues at security, again imo it's down to shortages in staffing levels, that again is down partly to the pandemic and attraction of the pay,conditions and shifts ,I'm off to work in a minute off to the "worst airport in the world " and I fucking love it ,

good nice to see someone with pride in their work and you are right the pandemic obviously has had an impact and their are staff shortages not just border staff and security but the cleaners .

Manchester is a very unique experience to other airports

it invested in those fancy machines that you stand in and it scans you up and down . Not only are these slow and slow down going through security, what do they do that the standard metal detector doesn't do? . Other airports do not have these whether in the uk or outside.

other airports, certainly outside the uk , do not require you to unpack your bag and put electrics in separate trays. Can the X-ray machines not pick up what’s in the bag? Other airports around the world you just stick your bag through.

is the uk the only country still doing the plastic bags for liquids ? Don’t get asked in other countries. they are very strict on the bag size at Manchester as well!! Is it because they sell them?

do you have any idea when the construction work will be finished ? It’s been decades now and it still looks like lots of construction going on All over the site. Now the bloody motorway being turned into a smart motorway (then probably back again when someone gets killed)

hope it improves for all passengers not just those who pay extra for fasttrack through security and also an another amount for fast track through border control. Which isn’t a solution.

I hope they can find workers they need soon , as it will be passengers they need soon as people are fed up with it and going elsewhere. Even people who live in Manchester .

 

[Trevor Morley's Tache]

good nice to see someone with pride in their work and you are right the pandemic obviously has had an impact and their are staff shortages not just border staff and security but the cleaners .

Manchester is a very unique experience to other airports

it invested in those fancy machines that you stand in and it scans you up and down . Not only are these slow and slow down going through security, what do they do that the standard metal detector doesn't do? . Other airports do not have these whether in the uk or outside.

other airports, certainly outside the uk , do not require you to unpack your bag and put electrics in separate trays. Can the X-ray machines not pick up what’s in the bag? Other airports around the world you just stick your bag through.

is the uk the only country still doing the plastic bags for liquids ? Don’t get asked in other countries. they are very strict on the bag size at Manchester as well!! Is it because they sell them?

do you have any idea when the construction work will be finished ? It’s been decades now and it still looks like lots of construction going on All over the site. Now the bloody motorway being turned into a smart motorway (then probably back again when someone gets killed)

hope it improves for all passengers not just those who pay extra for fasttrack through security and also an another amount for fast track through border control. Which isn’t a solution.

I hope they can find workers they need soon , as it will be passengers they need soon as people are fed up with it and going elsewhere. Even people who live in Manchester .

I came back through LAX last week and they have the fancy scanners, as do ATL, Chicargo and many other smaller regional airports. They are much more secure than the old fashioned walk through metal detectors as they can detect more than just metal objects.

Contrary to popular belief the operator is no longer able to see you naked as the system displays a filtered body outline which highlights only the anomalies and displays them in location so that any physical search can be easily targeted. The may be slightly slower than the older walk through detectors but that's a small price to pay for a huge jump in security.

The TSA in the US are very strict in what you can leave in your bags. Laptops definitely have to be out of bags and placed in separate trays as it is is easier to detect potential threats/prohibited substances, especially on the 6-colour scanning machines. I know this from working on bag scanning at the London Olympics.

 

[GoatersLeftShin]

Whilst some of the problems can be blamed on the pandemic, a lot of the problems at the airport existed before 2020.

I know airports are becoming 'shopping destinations', but Manchester Airport is on a different level. Having to pay £3 (or whatever it is) to drop off is something I've never seen at any other airport. I remember having to buy the plastic bags for £1 a few years ago and again, would foreign visitors have £1 coins spare? I've been in a taxi where we were stuck in a queue to get out of the airport and our taxi driver was fined £50 as he was in there for more than 30 minutes or something. It wasn't his fault, but that journey to pick us up cost HIM £25 until he could get it back from the airport. It's morally wrong.

I even find the concept of "fast track" at an airport bizarre. You shouldn't be able to pay extra to get through quicker - it should be fairly quick anyway. Again, the failure of the airport to manage queues isn't seen as a problem to solve, but an opportunity to make more money. Imagine having a "fast track" to get on a bus or train - it's nonsense.

If they are struggling to attract staff then I suspect they are not paying enough for the work. My wife was on the airlines for years and I knew quite a few people who worked on the ground there. I saw first hand how the unsocial hours meant you had to run a car - you couldn't get to the airport at 4am without one. I suspect if they put the pay up then people would work there.

Manchester Airport doesn't have any unique problems, it's main problem is that those who own it see it as a cash machine. Until that changes, it will continue to be the worst airport to travel from and to.

 

[zandvoort blue]

The demise of MAN goes as far back as the mid 90s and the privatisation of the baggage services and the so called removal of a monopoly that MIA held. Prior to this all airport authority positions were filled by Council workers, a lot of them ex-binmen who transferred after the refuse collection was sold off. Employment was sought after and cherished, and any staff found to be "crossing the line" were sent to Coventry. However a European ruling in relation to the baggage services monopoly and the Council`s desire to offload the responsibility of the local authority pension scheme opened up the market, meaning standards and working conditions dropped. Whilst the airlines were happy with this due to incurring lower costs multiple agencies fought for contracts and had to reduce their costs by employing cheaper labour. The airport then saw this as an opportunity to become a "Landlord" and no longer a major employer. They are only interested in taking as much money as possible from all and sundry with no responsibilities.

Post Covid they are suffering just like other sectors. They`ve lost staff who`ve now found gainful employment elsewhere. I`ve seen it mentioned that the UK has lost 1 million people from the employment market since the start of Covid. It`s now an employee`s market out there where you can pick and choose your employment. The fact that some supermarkets have upped their salary rates goes to show.

So you can get a job at MAN, get to a staff car park at 4am, then get a bus to the terminal, get run ragged for a shift in summer and return home via a bus and car. Or you can work for Sainsbury`s for more money and less hassle.

Manchester Airport`s problem this summer won`t just be recruitment, it`ll be staff retention.

 

[unicorn]

Just back from Malaga and Seville first ever trip from Manchester. Moved up from Cambridge a year ago and regular pre-Covid flights from Stansted/ Gatwick were a nightmare.

On flight out last week it only took 20 minutes through security (Mrs Unicorn's laptop got put to one side and ignored). We only ever take hand luggage, even long haul, so no baggage problems. Biggest issue on way out was lack of seating and eating options as we got there 2 hours early after reading all these horror stories.

On way back in it took 15 minutes to get through passport control and 15 minute walk to the station but just caught the Welsh line to Piccadilly and time for a pint in the Tap.

Not sure what all the fuss is about. And where's the snow ?! (Malaga was great by the way).

 

[DenisLawBackHeel74]

Just back from Malaga and Seville first ever trip from Manchester. Moved up from Cambridge a year ago and regular pre-Covid flights from Stansted/ Gatwick were a nightmare.

On flight out last week it only took 20 minutes through security (Mrs Unicorn's laptop got put to one side and ignored). We only ever take hand luggage, even long haul, so no baggage problems. Biggest issue on way out was lack of seating and eating options as we got there 2 hours early after reading all these horror stories.

On way back in it took 15 minutes to get through passport control and 15 minute walk to the station but just caught the Welsh line to Piccadilly and time for a pint in the Tap.

Not sure what all the fuss is about. And where's the snow ?! (Malaga was great by the way).

Issues have only been at T1. I used T2 2 weeks ago and was through securing in 10 minutes.

 

[unicorn]

Issues have only been at T1. I used T2 2 weeks ago and was through securing in 10 minutes.

We flew out to Malaga from T1 last Monday. Bit disorganised but OK.

 

[N1985]

Milan Airport is amazing. In and through security straight away. Food is amazing and prices for everything are more than fair.

Helps with the absolute abundance of stunning women here and not having to look at Fat Pat from Wythenshawe.