Terminal moves mean a change in lounges.
As of November 2025, Etihad has moved terminals. The airline no longer flies from T1; in fact, no airlines now fly from that terminal. Instead, the carrier operates from the new Terminal 2, and that means premium passengers and those with status now have to make their way to a new airport lounge.
Which airport lounge does Etihad now use?
For the moment, Etihad are using the 1903 lounge. This is currently the most premium lounge in T2, until the Emirates Lounge launches. It’s also a lounge due to close, so the use of this lounge is expected to be temporary, but for the mid-term.
Etihad operate two or three flights a day from Manchester to Abu Dhabi: an early morning flight and then either a flight just after lunchtime or an evening flight. A mixture of 777s and 787s operate. Each flight will have a business class cabin with between 28 and 40 seats.
Add in a few passengers with Etihad Guest status who can get lounge access, and you’re looking at up to fifty people per flight that could use a lounge.
The 1903 is a reasonable, paid-for lounge. It’s also in use by a number of other airlines, including Qatar (4x flights a day) and Emirates (3x flights a day, with business and first class), which means it is going to get extremely busy. It’s not a large lounge, and the food and drink on offer are acceptable but not premium.
In Mid-2026, the Emirates lounge will open, taking some of the pressure off the 1903. However, Manchester Airport has announced that the 1903 itself will close in the future. What will happen with the lounges at T2?
Lounges at T2 – the future
The closure of the 1903 lounge could lead to that space being merged into the neighbouring Escape Lounge.
This is also being used by airlines, but it’s also the airport group’s primary lounge brand. When space is used by business class passengers, it means the airport can’t sell as many entries to regular passengers, and the margin on direct sales is much higher than to airlines.
I believe one more lounge is on the cards. Historically, that was mooted as being a oneworld lounge. It’s not far more likely to be a lounge for airlines only (i.e. no walk-ins or paid access).
It won’t be branded for a particular airline, or even an alliance, but it will be “invitation only”, meaning entry is based on your ticket or frequent flyer status.
That should lead to there being four lounges in T2:
- The original Escape Lounge
- The original Aspire lounge
- The new Emirates lounge
- A new “airline-only” lounge
This might feel like a workable number, but bear in mind that the old T1 had a 1903, Escape, Aspire and the dedicated Emirates lounge. T1 had far fewer flights and airlines than T2 has now.
This is not the first time a catch-all “airline only” lounge has operated at Manchester. For a brief period, the old 1903 lounge in T3 operated like this. It was often very busy, but the airport chose to close it. MAN don’t always seem to make sensible decisions when it comes to lounges.
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