England
Manchester International Airport
23-24 August 2019
Manchester International Airport ranks second only to Heathrow in the UK for volume of aircraft handled and it`s the busiest British airport outside London. There are three passenger terminals and a cargo terminal, along with an extensive maintenance area. There are two full-length parallel runways but the southern one, 23L / 05R, only operates on a part time basis, usually during the peak morning and evening periods when the vast amount of activity occurs. The bulk of transatlantic traffic arrives between 0700-0900 hrs, most long haul flights having a turnaround time of 2-3 hours.
These shots were taken on Friday 23 / Saturday 24 August 2019 which was a Bank Holiday weekend. This was only the second time that I`d been to the southside viewing locations rather than the Runway Visitor Park. Until recently, the RVP offered the best official viewing facility at any UK international airport. It included three raised areas to enable photographers to shoot above the security fence but two, including the highest, have been bulldozed to accommodate a new VIP terminal. The new construction also blocks views of the biz-jet ramp and terminal, but parking costs have remained the same. As a result, I didn`t even bother to check it out this time and remained on the south side of the airfield throughout. |
It was no surprise that being a bank holiday weekend the RVP got very busy soon after opening and it looked as if space on the last remaining mound was at premium most of the time. Unlike many bank holidays, the weather over the weekend was excellent with high temperatures and plenty of sunshine.
Base for my overnight stay was the Airport Inn Manchester Hotel & Spa which is ideally situated for the most popular south-side spots which are only a 10-15 minute stroll away. I`d booked on a room-only basis therefore can`t comment on the quality of food on offer but the hotel itself has seen better days. My room was small, basic and needed a proper dust. The window looked onto a low roof with large air vents and another wing of the building but as far as I`m aware you can`t see the airport from any of the rooms anyway due to intervening high ground and a screen of tall trees. The cost of the accommodation was very reasonable though and contrary to the signs, the parking area in front of the hotel is free for residents. Non-residents can also park here for a modest fee which would be about the only possible alternative to avoid a long walk if the adjacent lanes were full.
Convenient roadside spaces can disappear quickly at weekends as the land bordering the southside of the airport is an outdoor recreational area under the care of the National Trust, popular with walkers and cyclists. It includes the Styal Woods and a section of the Bollin Valley Way, a 25 mile (40 km) trail shadowing the course of the River Bollin. The Bollin rises in Macclesfield Forest, flows through Macclesfield and Wilmslow, is culverted under the runways of Manchester Airport and eventually meets the Mersey north of Lymm. The route starts at Macclesfield Riverside Park and finishes in Partington ten miles south-west of Manchester city centre. Historically part of Cheshire, this town lies on the southern bank of the Manchester Ship Canal, the industrial area being a stark contrast to the fields, woodlands, and villages that make up much of the route.
In the above view taken from the Airport Inn car park, the way to the viewing areas leads over the river via a stone bridge. At the top of the lane a couple of gates on the right, one with a National Trust sign for Styal Woods, mark the start of the well-made paths that can be followed to the prime viewing locations.
In the above view taken from the Airport Inn car park, the way to the viewing areas leads over the river via a stone bridge. At the top of the lane a couple of gates on the right, one with a National Trust sign for Styal Woods, mark the start of the well-made paths that can be followed to the prime viewing locations.
With close-up views like this it`s easy to see why Manchester Airport`s southside is so popular with aircraft enthusiasts.
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Although I didn`t see any particularly outstanding movements, there were plenty of wide-bodies from Asia and the Middle East not usually seen at Scottish airports. My favourite shot from the trip though was this snap of what I think is a United Airlines Boeing 767 flyover passing the moon early on Saturday morning. The sky was so clear that some of the larger craters were defined in fine detail.
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Other high flyers included heavies from Emirates, KLM and the Delta Airlines fleets...
British Airlines
Virgin Atlantic is a major player at Manchester with its Boeing 747 and Airbus A330 heavies offering flights to various long-haul destinations all year-round.
There were only a modest number of British Airways flights compared with those of the charter airline companies.
TUI have a number of Boeing 767s and Dreamliners based at Manchester as well as some Boeing 737s.
Airbus A321-231(WL) G-TCVD in `I love Cook`s Club` livery was snapped on the 24th.
Airbus A330-243 G-VYGM (above), currently with Jet2, has an interesting history. It was originally an Airbus Military A330-200MRTT bearing the Spanish Air Force serial number EC-332 having been delivered in February 2015. A year later it was given its current UK civil registration and although it had been allocated RAF serial ZZ342 this was not taken up. Since 2016 the aircraft has flown with the RAF, Thomas Cook Airlines, AirTanker and TUI Airlines Belgium.
I didn`t bother to photograph many of the numerous easyJet airliners that flew in over the weekend.
Loganair Saab 2000 G-LGNS.
Above: Loganair Embraer ERJ-135ER G-SAJB and Embraer ERJ-145EP G-SAJN. Boeing 757-256 G-AZPX of Titan Airways is pictured below.
Other European Carriers
Olympus Airways Airbus A321-231s SX-ABQ (above) and special liveried SX-ABY (below). The latter aircraft, which operated from Manchester on both Friday 23 and Saturday 24 August, is still in basic Monarch Airlines colours but with OLYMPUS titles and what looks like Zeus and a bolt of lightning on the tail. Monarch, once a major presence at Manchester, entered administration and ceased operations on 2 October 2017 in what was the biggest airline collapse in UK history, leaving nearly 100,000 passengers and holidaymakers stranded. SX-ABY is currently leased to TUI.
Last month it was revealed that Ryanair had set up another Air Operator Certificate (AOC), this time as Malta Air. Initial reports state that in addition to transferring six Boeing 737s to Malta Air, approximately 40 others, from Ryanair`s French, German and Italian bases will also be re-registered as Maltese. The first of the new Air Malta jets, 9H-QAB, made the newly formed carrier`s first visit to Scotland when it flew in from Bordeaux and landed at Edinburgh on 20 June. I photographed another of the batch, 9H-QAF (above) on its takeoff run at Manchester on Saturday 24 August. These aircraft, along with the Ryanair Sun / Buzz fleets will eventually be repainted in new liveries.
Right: This all-white Bombardier CRJ-900LR EI-GEH is owned by Irish operator CityJet. Formerly a subsidiary of Air France-KLM, CityJet now has its main hub at London City Airport. CityJet flies to more than 30 destinations across Europe. In April 2014, the airline and its subsidiary VLM were acquired by the German company, INTRO Aviation. In July 2019, the European Commission approved the creation of a joint venture between Fortress Investment Group and Air Investment Valencia, combining the activities of CityJet and Air Nostrum. Both provide wet leasing services to other airlines as well as charter flights. Many of CityJet`s CRJ`s are currently on lease to SAS (Scandinavian Airlines).
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Above: Airbus A321-231(WL) TC-JTF Turkish Airlines. Friday 23 August 2019. TC-JTE (below), in `Miles & Smiles` livery, also called on the 23rd.
Asia, Africa & The Middle East
Cathay Pacific is effectively the flag carrier for Hong Kong International Airport, utilising a large fleet which includes widebody Boeing and Airbus aircraft. The airline`s extensive network serves destinations throughout the Asia-Pacific, Africa, Europe, the Middle East and North America. Airbus A350-1041 B-LXF worked the Manchester - Hong Kong service on Friday 23 August.
Airbus A350-1041 B-LXD (below) arrived early on Saturday 24 August 2019...
Above: Boeing 777-240(ER) AP-BGJ of Pakistan International Airlines was snapped on Friday 23 August. PIA is the country`s flag carrier and wholly owned by the government of Pakistan. With hubs at Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad and using a fleet of narrow and wide-body Airbus, Boeing and ATR aircraft, PIA operates an extensive network of domestic and regional services within Pakistan and the Subcontinent as well as services to Asia, the Middle East, Europe and North America.
Singapore Airlines Airbus A350-941 9V-SMR taxis to the terminal after landing on Saturday 24 August.
Airbus A350 9V-SMN (below) also called in.
Emirates A380-861 A6-EOX (above) was one of those present on Friday 23 August.
Above: Emirates Airbus A380-842 A6-EVB is seen here on Saturday 24 August 2019. This variant is powered by Trent 900 Rolls-Royce engines and consequently less common than the A380-861 which is fitted with Engine Alliance GP7270s.
Founded in 2003, Etihad Airways is the national carrier of the emirate of Abu Dhabi, based at Abu Dhabi International Airport. Operating a fleet of narrow and wide-body Airbus and Boeing aircraft, Etihad provides a rapidly expanding network of services within the Middle East and to Europe, Asia, North America, Canada and Australia. In addition to its core activity of passenger transportation, Etihad earns significant revenue from its cargo operation, Etihad Crystal Cargo. This is Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner A6-BMB which made a welcome appearance on Saturday 24 August.
Qatar Airways Airbus A350-941 A7-ALJ appeared on both Friday and Saturday.
North American Carriers
The only Canadian airliners were wide-bodies of Air Transat and Air Canada Rouge. This is A330-243 C-GUBT which arrived at 10:45hrs on Friday 23 August.
Shots of United Airlines Boeing 767-424(ER) N59053 arriving and departing on Saturday 24.8.2019.
Biz Jets
Dassault Falcon 900C PH-STB taxis to line-up for takeoff on Friday 23 August 2019.
I snapped several biz-jets during my stay, but many images are just distant record shots of aircraft landing on Runway 23R, or at the Signature Aviation ramp on the opposite side of the airfield.
Right: It might as well have been foggy for all that`s visible of Citation Mustang OE-FOG in this shot! The Austrian-registered corporate jet landed mid-morning on the 24th. Another Austrian Mustang OE-FHA (above & below) was much closer the day before when it lined-up for takeoff.
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Below: Hawker 800XP N125XP starts its takeoff run on Friday 23 August 2019...
I left Manchester late morning on Saturday to give me enough time to visit Carlisle Lake District Airport and check out the Solway Aviation Museum for the first time. Its collection of mainly military aircraft is fairly small but impressive nonetheless. Shots and additional information can be found on a separate page: Click here to view.