Manchester Airport is carrying out an “extensive review” of its road and parking system after taxi and private hire firms reported severe queues into Terminal 2 pick-up.
Operators posting on social media and quoted by the Manchester Evening News, Bury Times and BBC described waits of 30 minutes or more — Nolan’s Airport Transport put some T2 West queues at 30–45 minutes — with limited nearby waiting space and a short free window once inside the car park. One firm told customers to consider Liverpool instead.
A Manchester Airport spokesperson said the summer road network had coped with record passengers, but early September saw problems from higher local traffic and more couples and solo travellers (lower passengers per car). Extra marshals were put on and remain in place. The airport is working with Transport for Greater Manchester on traffic-light timings and reviewing the system for longer-term fixes. It told MEN traffic had since returned to normal.
The congestion story is separate from the barrierless drop-off/pick-up charging system introduced earlier, which still requires payment by midnight the next day or risk a parking charge.