Manchester Skywalk

Techno

We are flying out of Manchester terminal 2 with Monarch and back into terminal 1 with Turkish airways. Thought the most sensible thing to do would be to park in the terminal 1/3 long term parking and get the bus to terminal 1 (so less hassle when we land) then walk across to terminal 2 using the skywalk. Is this the most sensible way to do things AND how do I access/where is the skywalk in terminal 1? Is it signposted? Manchester airport has lots of information but it just says there is a skywalk not how to get there.
Many thanks everyone

Peccary

I assume the Skywalk is the system of tunnels and travelators that link the terminals? Each terminal is pretty clearly signed from the others.

Alan_Bowen

Yes, it will take you ten minutes to get from 1 to 2, the signposts are easy to follow, you go via the Station The problem usually is that the lifts at terminal 1 to get you up to the level of the passageway may not be working and I always assume half the "moving walkways" aren't moving and you have to walk the whole or a substantial part of the way.

Techno

Many thanks both. We usually walk anyway Alan but taking the beloved bike this time in its personal carry case so lots more luggage than usual so I hope the lifts are working!!!

danandjens_worldtravels

Drop off all luggage and persons except driver at T2 drop off point, In Manchester this is right outside the terminal, free to stop and both of you will be able to unload to the doors of the terminal easily.

The nominated driver then goes and parks etc and returns via walking to meet you where you are left with baggage.

In return do the reverse.

It seems a long winded way to do it, but is probably quicker and less hassle as you are not lugging the bags around. I've done it plenty of times and have even disassembled or reassembled bikes so they fit in the car or packed for plane while waiting for the driver to return.

Also, depending on the time you leave or return those lifts can be a nightmare, many people NEED to wheel their luggage rather than carry on the stairs/escalator, you will not be able to do a packaged bike and luggage without the lift and ensuing scrum. The drop off method removes the need to endure other lift users

Techno

danandjens_worldtravels wrote: »

danandjens - good to hear from someone who takes a bike. We are getting a bikeboxalan to pack into - any issues with size and weight when you have taken yours ( he has a specialised stumpy carbon fibre frame)

lea2012

I think there is a bus from outside T1 that also goes to T2. Might be a bit longwinded but perhaps you could hop on hop off perhaps? I might be wrong so apologise if I am but I'm sure I've seen one!

danandjens_worldtravels

I've only taken touring bikes, and not hugely expensive ones. Been with easy jet each time and they were fine. Flying from Manchester they wanted to swab the bike before X-ray in the oversize baggage and we had to wait for ages for the guy to arrive, which meant getting to the gate and just stepping on the plane, so allow plenty of time. And Keep your tape in hand luggage incase you have to reseal it

As far as carriage is concerned we used the plastic ctc bag, no packaging and it was fine, bike was treated well and easily collected at the other end from the oversize belt. We used the ctc bags as they are cheap and were not returning from the same place.

For panniers we dropped them into a large chequered 'laundry' bag from the £1 shop so we could class them as just one bag and not two or 5 as it actually was. But I suspect you're on a road bike and won't have all that gubbins

Easyjet also combine all your weight allowance so the extra on the bike as they were under (they are 15kg approx) could be moved to the bags - I had to explain this to the check in staff in Amsterdam so read the carriage rules as sometimes the check in staff aren't fully aware. She agreed with the computer, which agreed with me :-p

The ctc cycling forums had lots of info and a helpful community.