Manchester Airport was originally opened in 1938 as Ringway airport and was used by the RAF during the Second World War being known as RAF Ringway. In 1975 Ringway airport was renamed Manchester International Airport and then in 1986 the international was dropped from its name being known until the present date as simply Manchester airport.

Manchester airport has two runways, three terminals and a railway station; it handles over twenty one million passengers per year making the busiest airport in England outside of London. Manchester airport’s two runways see over two hundred thousand aircraft movements per year.

Terminal one deals with international traffic and has plans for a new boarding area to cater for Airbus A380 flights from 2010.

Terminal two deals with long haul flights and charter airlines and has a capacity to deal with around eight million passengers per year.

Terminal three was opened in 1989 and extended when British airways built a new seventy five million pound facility in 1989 being the main users of terminal three, British Airways has since scaled back operations from Manchester airport with the sale of their budget airline BA connect to rival budget airline Flybe in March 2007.

Manchester airport is also home to one of the retired iconic Concorde aircraft. Concorde G-BOAC is displayed in a purpose built exhibition viewing hanger in the aviation viewing park, the aviation viewing park is home to a number of other aircraft including BAE Systems Avro RJX G-IRJX the last airliner to be built in the UK.