Airline & Holiday Information

Archive for the ‘UK Airports’ Category

Once you arrive in Manchester either through a cheap flight or on public transport the city is possibly one of the easiest cities in the UK to navigate. Manchester itself boasts an extensive city transport network, in addition to out of town services coming into the city.

Trams, also known as the Metrolink, operate through the city centre.  These are currently on two routes but there are plans to expand this. One line runs from Piccadilly to Eccles, the other between Altrincham and Bury. Tickets can be bought from machines for travel on the Metrolink but the service is relatively expensive.

Metroshuttle is a free bus service that runs through three routes around the city centre covering most of the major areas. Bus stops for this service are located at all major train stations and car parks dotted around the city.

There is an extensive bus service in and around Manchester, with more than one operating company, but due to congestion it may take a long time to go a very short distance. Most bus services are relatively cheap and you pay the driver for the journey as you get on. There is a selection of all day travel and weekly bus passes available, so if you are making more than one journey it may be worth asking about this option.

Driving or taking a taxi is another option, but again due to congestion this may not be the most practical solution.  Car parking in Manchester is very expensive.  Seeing the city on foot is the best way to view all of the sights at leisure.  Boards with street maps are dotted around the city to help with navigation.

Glasgow is situated in the east of Scotland just 42 miles from Edinburgh.  Visitors to the city will find travelling there straightforward as the area is connected by rail and flights to many of the UK’s biggest cities.

The city’s Buchanan Bus Station is where most long-distance buses and coaches arrive and depart.  Companies such as National Express and Silver Choice have regular services from major cities such as London, Newcastle and Birmingham with reasonably priced fares.  This does make them very popular so seats will need to be booked in advance.  A number of Scotland’s motorways meet at Glasgow, including the M74, M77 and M8, making it easy to reach the city by car if you prefer to drive.

When travelling by rail into Glasgow from both England and Wales, trains arrive at Glasgow’s Central Station.  Booking rail tickets in advance can work out considerably cheaper than buying on the day and it is a quicker journey than by the bus. 

Glasgow International Airport is just a few miles outside the city and brings in visitors on both domestic and external flights. A number of budget airlines have scheduled flights in and out of the city, which means that flights to Glasgow can be relatively inexpensive.  Flights are available to and from several cities including Brussels, Amsterdam and New York.  Prestwick International Airport is situated a little further away and receives flights mainly from Eastern Europe and some internal shuttle flights.  Both airports have good public transport links into the city.

Glasgow airport offers a comprehensive range of flights to a growing number of European destinations. The airport also has the advantage of being able to allow budget airlines to operate from its terminals, meaning that the customer will enjoy very competitive prices for flights.

The two biggest airlines that fly from Glasgow are British Airways and Flybe, both of whom fly to a lot more destinations than some of the smaller budget airlines that operate in the area.

The cheapest price for a flight from Glasgow to London can be as low £4. But beware that this does not take into account tax and other cost factors and also is based on very specific circumstances that you may not be aware of and may not be able to meet.

The two airports that you can fly from in Glasgow are Glasgow International and Glasgow Prestwick. Both airports offer very good services to mainland United Kingdom destinations and many other European destinations. They also have good deals to worldwide destinations, although these will not be direct and may require you to switch airlines half way through a flight in order to travel on to your final destination.

Security at the airports is thought to be adequate and matches up well with other UK transport centres such as Heathrow and Gatwick.

The M9 Motorway is also very convenient and will take you straight into Scotland’s capital city of Edinburgh.

Aberdeen Airport is one of fastest growing airports in the UK. It is located just six miles from the city centre and has direct air links throughout the UK, as well as to the rest of Europe. In addition, this airport is the world’s busiest commercial heliport, transporting more than 500,000 passengers in support of the North Sea oil and gas industry.

Airlines that offer flights to and from Aberdeen include Ryanair, Flyglobespan, Eastern Airways, KLM, Air France, Virgin Atlantic, BMI, EasyJet, City Star Airlines, Stavanger, and New Monarch, Loganair, SAS, Flybe, BMI Baby and Wideroe.

As well as being home to Scotland’s largest national park and a dramatically long coastline, Aberdeen has so much more to offer. The city, which is the third largest in the country, combines striking granite architecture, inspiring history, a dynamic modern arts scene and strong industrial heritage that make it an extremely popular tourist destination.

Getting around the city is easily achieved, as there are buses, trains and car hire available. The railway station is located right in the city centre and there are regular services to and from all areas of Scotland and beyond. For example, there are ten trains per day to the northern city of Inverness alone, stopping at towns like Huntly, Keith and Elgin. Aberdeen’s brand new bus station, operated by CityLink, also connects to over 200 locations across Scotland. While another bus company, National Express, offers a range of services that connect Aberdeen with locations throughout the UK.

The city of Manchester is a metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. The city has an estimated population of 458,100 as of the year 2007. Manchester is located in the south-central area of North West England, the outer limit of the Pennines to the east and north, and the Cheshire Plain to the south. The city formed a component of the English Core Cities Group, and is the centre of commerce and education, media, and the arts. These are factors that add to the city of Manchester’s status as the Second City of the United Kingdom for the year 2002. Here are two popular flights to Manchester that you may want to try:

1) British Airways

This is the biggest airline in the United Kingdom in terms of fleet size. This flag carrier has its base of operations in Waterside, near the main hub of the Heathrow Airport of London. British Airways Group was established on the first of September in 1974 when the Labour Government at that time nationalised it. British Airways was considered the biggest airline in the United Kingdom in terms of passenger traffic until 2008.

2) Lufthansa

This flag carrier of Germany is the biggest European airline in terms of all the passengers it has carried in flights, including ones to Manchester. Deutsche Lufthansa is a company name taken from Luft, which means air in German, and Hansa, similar to the strong medieval trading company called the Hanseatic League. The airline’s base of operations is in Cologne, and its main traffic hub is located at the Frankfurt Airport. Lufthansa also has another hub at the Munich Airport. Around 70.5 million passengers were carried by Lufthansa in the year 2008.

The airlines that offer flights to and from Dublin, the capital of Ireland, include Ryanair, Aer Arann, Aer Lingus, Flybe, Air France, BMI, Air Southwest, Germanwings, Lufthansa, Spanair, Iberia, TAP, SAS-Scandivinian Airlines, Swiss, Air Baltic, FlyLal, Malev Airlines, Czech Airlines, Swissair, Bulgaria Air, Malev Hungarian, British Airways, Iberia, Royal Air Maroc, Virgin Atlantic, Etihad Airways, Gulf Air, KLM, Turkish Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, Virgin America, Continental Airlines, US Airways, Flyglobespan, Air Canada, United, Alaska Airlines, Emirates, Cathay Pacific, Qantas, Gulf Air Australia, Singapore Airlines, Luxair, Air France, TAM and Tap Portugal.

Dublin International Airport is approximately 12km north of the city centre and has excellent public transport and road links. Facilities in this airport include airline ticket desks, car hire, national bus and rail information, hotel transfer service, left-luggage area, catering facilities, Bank of Ireland branches, Bureaux de Change and tourist information and reservations service.

Tourists can explore the city by taking a bus, using the Dublin Area Rapid Transport (DART), taxi or hire car. The DART suburban rail service operates between Malahide, the northern part of the scenic coastal trip and Greystone, the southern part of the coastal trip.

Trains have two major stations in the city, at Connolly and Heuston, while taxis are hailed, booked by telephone or hired from taxi ranks. Three of the city centre’s main taxi ranks can be found on Dame Street, O’Connell Street and St. Stephen’s Green.

The Titanic, ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ and Milk of Magnesia, what do you think they all have in common?

You may be surprised to learn that they are all products of men living and working the city of Belfast. Locals find it amusing that they all came from their humble city. Now, it is your turn to experience the grandeur of Belfast.

Access to the city is quite easy, especially for visitors coming from other parts of the UK or countries within the European Union (EU). Belfast has two airports catering to both domestic and international flights, George Best Belfast City Airport, which is closer to the city centre and Belfast International Airport, which is situated to the north of the city.

Travellers arriving from inside the country or from the rest of the UK can fly to Belfast International Airport on flights operated by airlines such as EasyJet, the airport’s largest operator, BMI, Jet2, Manx2 or Aer Lingus, depending on the departure point. Obviously, the airport also operates return flights to most UK airports. George Best Belfast City Airport mostly caters to domestic flights and the main operators using this airport include Aer Arann, BMI, Flybe, Ryanair and Manx2.

For visitors travelling from international locations, Belfast International Airport is the usual point of arrival. However, from some countries it may be necessary to fly into London’s Heathrow or other major UK airport and then take a domestic flight to Belfast. International airlines flying directly into the city include Continental Airlines, Bulgarian Air Charter, Spanair, Thomas Cook Airlines and Thomson Airways.

Many airlines fly to Moscow from European and Asian cities, along with Hong Kong and New York. They include Aeroflot, Air China, Air France, Alaska Airlines, Air India, Alitalia, ANA, Balkan, CSA, British Airways, Korean Air, Delta, Finnair, JAL, KLM, LOT Polish, Lufthansa, Malev, Sabena, PIA, SAS, THY Swissair, and Transaero. There are also charter services offered in most major cities in Europe and North America.

Some of the most popular tourist sights in Moscow include Red Square, the Kremlin, fine art and other museums, theatres, old Moscow and Christ the Saviour Cathedral. Mementos of the old communist system are also in great demand by visitors.

The Kremlin is a self-contained city that dates back to 1147. It has a multitude of palaces, armouries and churches. Red Square, though, is associated with images of Soviet leaders standing atop Lenin’s Mausoleum in the bitter cold, while viewing parades of military power.

Surviving artefacts of old Moscow include Novodevichy Convent and Cemetery, the English House and the Palace of the Romanov Boyars, while the Pushkin Fine Arts Museum, the Tretyakov Gallery and Gorky House Museum are among the most interesting places to visit.

However, the newly renovated Christ the Saviour Cathedral, which was demolished during Stalin’s regime, in 1931, is a magnificent symbol of the largest construction boom in the recent history of Moscow.

Moscow is a Russian city, somewhere an individual comes face to face with all the finest and the most frustrating events in the country. It is the place where Soviet history collides with the capitalist future in Russia. Furthermore, Moscow’s most striking aspect is not its much-publicised embrace of Western culture, but its proud revival of its own traditions.

Gatwick Airport London’s second largest airport is the second busiest airport in the UK.
Gatwick is located around 3 miles north of Crawley and 28 miles south of London .

In 2008 the airport celebrated its 50th birthday as it was opened on the 9th of July 1958 by Queen Elizabeth II.

The owners and operators of Gatwick Airport are BAA who also own Aberdeen Airport, Edinburgh Airport, Glasgow International Airport, London Gatwick Airport, London Heathrow Airport, London Stansted Airport and Southampton Airport.
 Although BAA do have Gatwick, Stansted and Edinburgh or Glasgow up for sale.
The Competition Commission said that BAA needed to sell a airport as it was so dominate in the South East, Gatwick was valued at £1.8 billion by independent regulators.

Gatwick only has two terminals aptly named North and South. Both of these terminals are fully equipped with restraints in the public areas and after check-in, prayer rooms and entertainment and leisure facilities.

Gatwick Airport

Although Gatwick has 2 runways they can only use one at once due to their close proximity. The northern runway 08L/26R is only to be used when the Gatwick’s main runway 08R/26L isn’t in use.  The Northern runway is normally used as a taxiway.
26L the main runway is just under 11,00FT in length and is a mixture of Asphalt and concrete. 26R or the northern runway is considerably shorter at 8,415 Ft in length.

The recent bridge erected at Gatwick is part of a £850m plan to increase the airports capacity and turn around in passengers over the next 10 years which could cope 45 million passengers per annum.

Gatwick Bridge

Manchester Airport is the UK’s busiest airport outside of the London area when talking in pure passenger numbers.
Located just off the M56 and A583, Manchester airport lies just south of Manchester City it’s self and opposite Ringway.

Manchester Airport was originally named Ringway Airport when it was opened on the 25th June 1938, during World War II the airport was known as RAF Ringway, a declaration of war brought an end to all civil flights in 1939, and work proceeded in the building of a new Royal Air Force Station.

The Airport was officially opened on the 25th of July 1938, the first scheduled flight was a KLM flight to Amsterdam on a Douglas DC-2 Aircraft. In its first year 4000 passengers came through the terminals of Manchester Airport which was then known as Ringway due to the parish it laid in.

After the end of World War II the airport saw rapid expansion the first Trans Atlantic flight flew on the 28th of ~October 1953 to JFK airport in New York. In 1958 Ringway was handling 500,000 passengers a year.

In 1972 Ringway airport was renamed Manchester International Airport, in a bid to attract more long haul flights the main runway was extended to 10,000ft from 7,000ft, in 1988 Manchester international Airport was handling 9.5 million passengers annually and celebrated its Golden Jubilee.

Manchester Airport 1971

The ever increasing number of passengers travelling through Terminal 1 was starting to take its toll, so in 1993 Terminal 2 opened with a airport railway station which connected to the UK’s rail network which allowed even more passengers to travel direct into the airport.

Terminal 2 only handles international flights, with 16 gates located in T2 15 of those have air bridges and one where you’ll walk along the runway. Terminal 2 and Terminal 1 are connected by the Skylink which also has long travelators to save passenger’s a 10-15 minute walk. Skylink also connects to Manchester airports railway station.

Skylink Manchester Airport

In 1997 planning was approved for Manchester’s second runway to be built, work commenced in 1997 and was completed in 2001 at a cost of £172 Million and was the first full runway to be constructed in the UK for over 20 years, 23L/05R the technical name for Runway Two.

Terminal 1 deals with all the UK internal flights, and it can handle around 11 million passengers annually, which has been greatly expanded since it first opened in 1962 when it could handle a capacity of 2.5 million passengers.

Manchester Airport fly’s to over 190 destinations via 65 tour operators / carriers, the airport offer more destinations compared to some of the biggest airports over in the US such as New York, Dallas and Chicago.

Car parking at Manchester Airport is fairly well equipped, Short stay car parks can be found next to T1,2,3 and are usually multi storeys. The parking is pretty expensive at around £2 for 30 minutes and close to £30 for 24 hours. When parking for a arrival it will usually cost you around £6-£8 depending on your time of arrival. It can take international flights around 1 hour from point of landing to coming through the arrival gates in the lounge, so don’t worry about turning up to early for a flight.