Video of the Day: Showcasing Manchester Airport’s new-look Terminal 2
Manchester Airport has released a video that previews the traveller experience at its new Terminal 2, which will be completed later this year.
UK. Manchester Airport has released a video that previews the traveller experience at its new Terminal 2, which will be completed later this year. The project marks the culmination of a ten-year £1.3 billion (US$1.6 billion) transformation programme at the northern English gateway.
The video below shows the full passenger journey from the new check-in hall through security and into the departure lounge, highlighting where retail and dining fit into the journey.
Highlights include outlets by Chanel and LEGO, the airport’s first JD Wetherspoon pub, a Fever-Tree bar and the showpiece Great Northern Market – a dining experience featuring a range of street-food-style kitchens around a central eating area. Click here for our previous story on the enhanced commercial offer.
The first phase of the programme – an extension that doubled the size of Terminal 2 – opened in 2021 and has already received the prestigious UNESCO-backed Prix Versailles award for architecture and design.
Since then, work to upgrade the original part of the building, creating more space for seating, security, shops and restaurants and check-in has been continuing.
The fly-through video augments computer generated imagery of parts of the terminal that are under construction with the parts that have been finished to show the full experience.
The video begins in the new check-in area and goes into the security hall, then turns left and upstairs to the international departure lounge before going through a new World Duty Free store. It then moves into the Boutique Mall area – which will be home to Chanel and Fever-Tree, among other brands – before joining with the section of the terminal that has already opened and features a striking honeycomb light art installation.
The camera turns and passes through what is currently a wall but will be opened out to lead into a high street-style shopping area that will be known as The Avenue. There passengers will find the LEGO Store, the Great Northern Market, the JD Wetherspoon pub and more.
Manchester Airport Managing Director Chris Woodroofe said: “Everyone here at Manchester Airport feels proud to be able to connect the North to the world – and that’s why it’s so exciting for us to finally be able to share this video our passengers, so they can get a preview of what they’ll be able to experience here later on this year.
“Our transformation programme has been ten years and £1.3 billion in the making but now we’re in the final stages of finishing everything off to open it to the public later this year. There’s a huge amount of work going on all over the airport but this video shows that it will all be worth it.
“That work isn’t just limited to Terminal 2 either. We’re modernising our airfield, building a new road to improve access to the new terminal – and we’ll soon be able to say more about some work we’re doing in Terminal 3 too.”
An independent report commissioned last year showed around 16,400 extra jobs will be generated by 2040 as a result of the economic activity stimulated by the expansion of the airport and its route network.
The same research – by York Aviation – revealed that Manchester Airport’s contribution to the Northern economy is expected to soar by nearly +80%, to £6.3 billion by 2040 as a result of the full delivery of the transformation programme. A further £2.9 billion boost will be triggered through the increased productivity of businesses travelling and trading globally through Manchester over the same period. 
