The big Manchester Airport plans that could impact millions of passengers

Transport bosses are eyeing major improvements to help passengers get to Manchester Airport without having to drive.

It comes after concerns were raised this week about the huge amount of car trips being made to drop off and collect passengers flying through the airport.

Manchester Airport benefits from an on-site rail, bus and tram station, but the majority of people end up driving to get there.

Hazel Grove MP Lisa Smart said there are 30 million people who use Manchester airport each year, with 84 per cent of journeys to and from the area being made by car.

“The carbon footprint of Manchester Airport comes only partly from air travel, as a lot of it comes from road travel,” she added.

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) said access to the airport is a “key part” of its plans to make it easier to travel around the region on the Bee Network.

The network has plans to bring eight railway lines covering 64 stations under local control, a project which will be rolled out in three separate phases.

Phase two of the work, expected by December 2027, will see the rollout of tap in tap out ticketing on services connecting Manchester Piccadilly to Manchester Airport, Alderley Edge and Buxton via Stockport.

It includes creating a ‘flagship station’ at Manchester Airport and an international travel hub as the gateway to Greater Manchester.

Looking further ahead, TfGM is also looking at creating new tram and tram-train lines, which includes completing the western leg of the Metrolink airport tram line, and several potential tram-train services that could make use of the new infrastructure.

A report shared last summer about the airport tram line western leg revealed that bosses want the network to serve