'Summer is our Christmas': Huge crowds descend to snatch up hundreds of Manchester Airport jobs after weeks of turmoil

Manchester Airport held a job fair in Wythenshawe to recruit staff after it has been plagued by staff shortages and huge passenger delays.

Long queues at the airport have been reported for some time, with queues going back as far as the car park on one occasion as passengers struggled to make it through security. This week, Karen Smart, the airport's boss, warned that queues could continue for 'several weeks' and finally acknowledged it was struggling with staff shortages following the pandemic and amid a new surge in international travel.

“We want to be clear with our customers that getting back to full strength is going to take time and there will unfortunately be periods over the next few weeks when it will take longer to get through the airport than it should," the managing director said.

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Bosses said they were now on a major recruitment drive with hundreds of vacancies to fill. Now Manchester Airport Group, together with Manchester city council and the airport academy are working together to recruit.

On Thursday, a job fair was held at Wythenshawe forum, with over 30 employers looking to hire staff in the run up the airport’s busy season. The busy fair offered a range of roles from baggage handlers to team members at the airport’s Costa Coffee and Hamley’s stores, with many of the recruiters offering on the spot interviews and jobs.

The Manchester Evening News visited the job fair and spoke to potential candidates, employers and the organisers to understand the drive for recruitment. Kai Warmisham, a coffee shop team member, hopes getting a job at Manchester airport will help him get to a cabin crew