Graham reports back from Friends of Scholes Park meeting
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by Lib Dem Team on 21 September, 2018
Reporting Back
In August I asked if people had issues they wanted raising at the meeting between Stockport Councillors and Manchester International Airport. The list included:
– Drop off fees and concessions for local residents
– Parking Fees
– Staff shortages and rude staff
– Poor signage
– Public Transport
It is fair to say that MIA are aware of the problems over the summer although not all the issues are in their control.
The airport is expanding rapidly, they are spending one millions pounds per day to improve the service level. The key new development is to enlarge the newest terminal – Terminal 2. This will allow them to migrate passengers from the over stretch older Terminals 1 and 3.
They are very aware that these older terminals were operating at their limit this year which led to delays and frustration transiting the terminals. I suspect the staff who face the problems day in and day out were also unhappy with the service.
The new Terminal 2 will be large and roomy with sufficient Border and Security desks to deal with the higher demand.
Drop off fees are in line with other International Airports (example John Lennon in Liverpool). We asked if the free drop of points can be improved to include more shelter against bad weather and to offer a free collection service, not presently available.
The airport offer short term parking for approximately 100 car to allow for collection at rates comparable with other airports but accept the signage to these bays needs to be improved.
Overall the airport has plans to build more multi-storey car parks but will continue to encourage travel by public transport to improve their environmental footprint.
Out on the roads the signage is just becoming available particularly on the new by pass where it will be in place for the opening on 8th October.
Signage on the motorway is presently just temporary as the M56 is due to be up graded to a smart motorway, working beginning in weeks. As this work completes it will include new signage to the airport.
Public Transport is not directly within the gift of the airport although they can greatly influence operators. They do have plans for new bus and rail services. Improvements are vital for passenger but also employees. With the airports expansion plans more jobs will be created on site plus they have the new Airport City North attracting a lot of interest. Overall they expect to create thousands of news jobs over the coming years.
MIA is now aware of all the issues raised and have taken the list away for consideration and to plan improvements.
Finally, the airport is celebrating it’s 80th Anniversary, mark this milestone they have created the video attached, this includes some glimpse into the plans for the new Terminal 2.
12 Comments
I would not be taken in so easily re drop off fees. These are just to generate even more revenue – heathrow and gatwick don’t charge them why should Mia charge ???
That gives the impression of “a
pat on the head, be a good boy and don’t ask any more silly questions.”
No word on extending the railway drop off passes for local people beyond sk9/m22?
As a frequent user of Manchester Airport Railway station, it would help a lot if the passes were extended to cheadle/gatley and heald green.
The terminal security services cannot be claimed to be”working at capacity” when fewer then 50% of the available lanes are in use.
This is the normal situation on a regular basis; I travel each and every week.
Possibly the equipment is faulty, therefore not in use? If so the airport should spend some money and have the equipment repaired
Possibly there are insufficient staff to operate all of the available lanes? If so, the airport should recruit and train sufficient staff for the purpose.
Perhaps that airport cares nothing for the convenience of its CUSTOMERS, and therefore does nothing to prevent excessive delays in this critical area? From my (reasonably extensive) experience of other airports, Manchester sadly ranks amongst the lowest in terms of efficiency and consideration
This appears to me to be MIA’s future development report, which has been issued for advertising via the Lib Dems. I’m pretty sure that not one local resident is any happier now than they were before the meeting. Very disappointing.
The public transport to the airport is a disgrace, especially for a major airport with grand aspirations
We try really hard to travel to the airport by bus, tram or train from Cheadle but the bus service has been cancelled and the trains stopping at Gatley are infrequent.
It has been impossible to complete the journey in the evening or in reasonable time during the day.
It can easily taken hour and a half or more, including waiting times while a taxi can take 15- 30 minutes, even at rush hour.
It is surely good news that a new terminal is under construction but the simple fact is that the points made by others here are all true and need to be dealt with; with much greater urgency. Over the past twenty years I have travelled extensively using a range of airports across the world. On almost every factor you can think of Manchester is now comfortably the worst experience each and every time I use it. I would have thought that its economic importance to the Region is so great that politicians (whose councils are meant to own the airport) would be much more robust in demanding improvements that are needed right now.
I recently passed through Manchester airport.
I paid a drop off charge, paid to use a trolley, paid to use the security Fast Track only to find that they were letting other people into the Fast Track queue to reduce the horrendous queues.
Man. Airport has no excuses, it’s poorly run. It looks at the
passengers as cash cows.
It’s just pathetic. The management deserve to be fired.
Not surprisingly many users and user organisations have voted MIA the worst airport in the UK
Don’t fly
Very disappointed but not in the least bit surprised at this from the Lib Dems. If you substitute the words “The Airport” or “MIA” with “we”, you have the latest PR statement from the organisation that clearly has the Lib Dems in their back pocket. I would have loved to have been the fly on the wall during this meeting to watch how quickly the Lib Dems dropped their pants to every response to each ‘question’ put to them by the sweaty-palmed, bowed, so-called representatives of the people of Stockport. Not a single scrap of a result from this meeting, and not a single bit of hope that The Airport has responded with any commitment to change anything as a result of this ‘meeting’. I just hope all the councillors enjoyed their free cups of tea and biscuits whilst customers of the airport were being fleeced to get in, fleeced to go through, and fleeced to get out of the place – and whilst the effects of their latest assault on local communities continues unabated and unchallenged. What a complete and utter shower. (Might also be an idea to hire someone to proofread your articles before release, too).
What public transport from Cheadle to the airport?
Have I missed this and usefa taxi for the last 40 years?
The 199 was supposed to go via Cheadle.
Stockport MBC, being a contributor to the airport, has the poorest public transport connections to it. How do we access Airport City job opportunities?