As the global gateway to the North of England, booking your clients’ travel from Manchester Airport (MAN) has some major advantages. It wows travellers with its extensive global connectivity and modern passenger facilities, and means your clients can avoid a connecting flight to London or travelling via a European hub, ensuring a smoother and quicker journey.
Travel Trade Manager Emily Lockwood explains: “Even if agents aren’t in the Manchester area, we’d love to show them how we can support them and their customers. Our long-haul catchment area actually places around 23 million people and 60% of all UK businesses within a two-hour drive time, so the chances are, many of your customers can fly with us.”
Investing in the trade
Agents enjoyed exploring Dusseldorf's christmas markets on a fam with Eurowings and MAN
Agents are key partners for the MAN team, who have invested heavily in trade engagement, developing the popular Manchester Airport Travel Trade Community. Those who join receive twice-monthly e-newsletters detailing fam trip invitations and booking incentives, as well as access to aircraft and airport tours to see new lounges, retail, food and beverage venues, and accessibility facilities.
The useful e-newsletter also includes information on joint airline and airport training sessions to ensure partners are abreast of the latest developments. Agents get to hear about the latest news on terminal developments – including lounges and retail, new airlines and new routes. The team also distribute surveys to the travel trade to ensure they’re listening and actioning trade insights directly with the Aviation team and all airline partners
To sign up to get all this delivered straight to your inbox, visit manchesterairport.co.uk/travel-trade-home
The e-newsletter is also promoted across MAN’s dedicated B2B social channels, which you can join here:
- Join the 1,800 other trade professionals following the airport on Hablo @manchesterairport
- Be part of the 800-strong Facebook group @manchesterairporttraveltrade
- And keep up-to-date on Instagram, where the team have more than 400 followers @manchesterairporttrade
Emily explains: “We want to ensure our agent partners are the first to know about all of the exciting developments happening at MAN, and signing up to our e-newsletter is the best way to get the inside scoop. We’re currently in the process of establishing a small focus group for travel trade partners to join us in MAN each quarter. We want to hear directly from those who are selling our product and support their conversations with route development, terminal updates, and training facilities”
Events for agents
Agents were welcomed at the Airside Access event
This year MAN ran its inaugural 'Airside Access' networking event, bringing more than 100 travel trade partners and 30-plus airlines together at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester. At the event 20 pairs of flight tickets were given away to lucky trade partners, and delegates heard exclusive airport updates and enjoyed backstage arena tours.
Emily adds: "We’re always looking to empower the northern travel trade, so this was a real highlight, and will now become an annual event. It’s always so valuable for us to see all our key partners under one roof. We really enjoyed celebrating MAN with them all, and we’re already looking forward to an even bigger and better event next year!”
Fantastic fams
Joining fam trips is just one of the benefits of being part of the airport’s Travel Trade Community, and agents have been lucky enough to secure some epic trips. “We’re really proud of the incredible fam trip programme we run from MAN, and love showcasing our airline partners and global network,” Emily explains.
Jackie (centre) with the fam trip group in Shanghai
Earlier this year, Wendy Wu Tour’s Global Head of Customer Experience Jackie Knell joined a Juneyao Air and MAN fam trip to the Shanghai region, and it was her first time flying from Manchester Airport. She explains: “I was absolutely bowled over by it, and it makes many other airports look old fashioned. The airport is so modern, with a great variety of coffee shops and restaurants. The check-in was super easy, with no queues at any of the security areas, and a great choice in Duty Free.”
Last December, Key Travel Supply Chain Manager Ronan Prat joined an incredible fam to Beijing and Hainan Island hosted by MAN and Hainan Airlines, alongside the Chinese National Tourism Organisation. He says: “Hainan Island was a real surprise. It was a tropical paradise, with clear blue water and several volcanoes. The flight was excellent too, I was really impressed by everything.”
In the last 12 months agents have also joined trips to Istanbul with Turkish Airlines, Dusseldorf with Eurowings, and Amsterdam with KLM. There’s even more to come later this year and in 2027, with exciting trips planned to Orlando with Virgin Atlantic, Tokyo with Hainan Airlines, Iceland with Icelandair, Izmir with Sun Express, Barcelona with Vueling, and Nuremberg with easyJet.
Emily adds: “We always get such fantastic feedback from these trips, so if you’re interested in joining us, make sure you’re part of the Travel Trade Community!”
Aircraft tours and training
Travel partners enjoyed an aircraft tour with Virgin Atlantic at MAN
The last 12 months have also seen a wave of training sessions and aircraft tours at MAN. The team have facilitated key contact meetings with airlines including Virgin Atlantic, Etihad Airways, Loganair, Luxair, Cathay Pacific, Air Canada, and Air Transat.
Emily notes: “These are always really useful for agents, as it gives them the chance to see the aircraft first-hand, so they’re even more confident when speaking to customers. And we have even more sessions to come later this year, from Qatar Airways, Hainan Airlines, and Ethiopian Airlines.”
MAN’s expanding network
Every year Manchester Airport handles around 32.1 million passengers, with more than 60 airlines flying direct to around 200 destinations.
This year it celebrated 10 years of service with Hainan Airlines, and 30 years of Virgin Atlantic.
New airlines that have joined or will be joining the airport in 2026 include Air Algerie, which launched direct flights to Algeria in June; and airBaltic, which will commence direct flights to Finnish Lapland from December. The airport will also welcome Riyadh Air, offering direct flights to Riyadh.
The airport has also celebrated the recommencement of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) direct flights to Lahore, Biman Bangladesh flights to Dhaka, and Norse Atlantic Airways to Bangkok.
“Our network means your client’s next adventure awaits at MAN,” Emily says. “From short city breaks, to relaxing beach holidays, at MAN they can start their journey with ease.”
Further information
Email the trade team: traveltrade@manchesterairport.co.uk
Trade website: manchesterairport.co.uk/travel-trade-home
Facebook: @manchesterairporttraveltrade
Instagram: @manchesterairporttrade
Hablo: @manchesterairport
