Any Manchester airport tips?

Katykat

Flying EasyJet 7am flight, arriving at airport in taxi. Last time we flew this early with 3 children it was already chaotic in the departure lounge. No seats, queues for snacks and coffees. Admittedly, our 3 kids added to the chaos ( excited) but we would rather try to keep them a little calmer. How do others plan their albeit short but stressful start to their hols? ( We can’t afford lounge access)

richardw

Book fast track security and a table at Giraffe for breakfast.

undetterred

Leave the kids at home

daveyjp

IIRC easyjet use T1, our last trip was T2 and it was chaos in the main area due to the building work.

We just walked along the pier leg and sat in the seats at one of the empty gates.

PompeyPete

I'm in the 1903 Lounge in a few weeks....a haven of peace, quiet, and a bit of quality at silly o'clock in the morning.:)

cubegame

Avoid the temptation to go to the airport too early. Arriving an hour and a half before the flight is about right

pattycake

cubegame wrote: »

Avoid the temptation to go to the airport too early. Arriving an hour and a half before the flight is about right

Not sure about that advice having had experience of the horrendous queues for security at Manchester. Plus, what could be more stressful than being short of time and worrying about missing the flight?

zagfles

Last time I was in a long security queue at Manchester, the staff were constantly going down the queue "fast tracking" anyone with an imminent flight. Seemed to work quite well, most people in the queue seemed to have arrived early so very few were actually fast tracked.

But last couple of times I've flown from Manchester there was hardly a queue at all. Guess it depends which terminal - T2 seems to be the least busy IME.

Have you thought about staying at an airport hotel with parking? Can get some good deals for a night in the hotel plus parking for a couple of weeks thrown in - and it might work out cheaper than getting taxis both ways. Plus you won't have to get up ridiculously early - some airlines allow you to check in bags the night before, not sure if Easyjet do.

ETA: one more tip - rock solid deodorants are "liquids" according to Manchester airport - so make sure anything like that is either in the hold luggage or in the clear plastic bag for liquids if you take it in hand luggage.

lea2012

My top tip would be to absolutely ignore the poster above that has suggested arriving 1.5 hours before your flight! We fly from Manchester several times a year and on a couple of occasions it has taken us that long to get through check in and security so unless you want a really stressful journey I suggest getting there 2.5-3 hours before!
When flying so early we usually don't bother with a lounge as you wouldn't really get your moneys worth. My top tip is to take some breakfast snacks with you, we've taken chocolate brioche, cereal bars and fruit with us in past. After check in go straight through security, by pass duty free and find a seat. If needs be grab a seat in Starbucks, Costa or one of the bars and get a coffee / juice for the kids. Feed them the snacks and literally just camp there until you are called to gate. We take it in turns to go to duty free, whsmith etc on our own or I usually take DD as she likes to have a look too leaving the other person with bags and spare kids.
Take new colouring books, mini board games, playing cards etc and just play with one at a time. Preload their tablets with films or TV episodes if they have one. Normally they can remain calmer if they have a seat, food and something to entertain them but staying in one place for as long as you can is definitely easier than dragging kids round the shops!

Katykat

All tips have been welcome. We only live 40 mins from airport & as there are 8 of us inc 3 kids it wouldn’t make sense to stay overnight in a hotel. I definitely will look into booking breakfast. We will try to get through the family security as that speeds families with children. However, it depends on whether there is a jobsworth on the gate. We did it once and they would only let parents through, not grandparents. Yet the next time they were fine. Inconsistent. Same with iPads, some staff say it’s fine to leave them in your bag, some make you put them in the tray. Still, roll on the sunshine.

pattycake

Katykat, I have always been asked to put my iPad and Kindle separately into a tray. If you separate out your liquids and gels into a sealed see through bag beforehand that saves scrabbling about at security.

Also, remove any jackets or scarves before it’s your turn. My husband also removes his belt and shoes in readiness. It always annoys me how many people slow up the system by only beginning to sort themselves out when they get to the front of the queue.