Manchester Airport, will be celebrating its seventieth anniversary on the 25th of June.
Initially called Manchester (Ringway) Airport, the facility today is the largest regional (non-London) airport in the United Kingdom and the forth largest in the UK on the whole. This is a great occasion for the airport, as it has provided a great base for passengers who are not travelling from London to travel to various destinations around Europe and the world.
A number of special events have been designed which will take place during the year to mark the occasion. Some of these celebratory events include an M Fest family day, the long awaited completion of the new Concorde hangar and a dinner for dignitaries.
Andrew Cornish, Managing Director of Manchester Airport, said, "The airport has changed beyond recognition from those early days. In 6 months of operations in 1938 the airport handled 4000 passengers - In 6 months of operations in 2007 the airport handled over 11 million passengers.
In 1938 there were 12 destinations served by Manchester, only 1 of them being outside the UK - In 2007 Manchester had over 220 destinations worldwide, more than any other UK airport".
"In 1938 there were only two check-in desks - In 2008 there are hundreds of check-in desks, plus Express and Internet check-in facilities. The runway in 1938 was 3000 feet in length - The modern runways are 10000 feet (3048 metres) in length", Cornish added.
