Stick #manchesterairport in the search box on Twitter - it seems that it's pot luck where some days people breeze through without a problem whereas on others they are queuing all the way along the tunnel between terminals at 3.30 AM.
We have a TUI flight from T2 in a few weeks and we've already made the decision to travel with carry-on items only.
It must be soul-destroying to queue for hours to check your luggage in only to then have to join another 2-hour queue for security.
We thought about using the twilight checkin-in the day before but then there's the under-pressure baggage handlers to consider and the worry that the chance of your luggage turning up in the wrong country must be massively increased under current operating conditions. And the potential two-hour wait to offload them all on return.
Oh for the golden age of travel in 2021 when there weren't as many travellers!