Manchester Airport is expanding (again)

T2 is done, so now the focus switches to the Ryanair Terminal (T3)

The airport’s Transformation Program officially ended when the final shops in T2 launched. That doesn’t mean the airport is done with changes, though. The team at MAN is now planning improvements to Terminal 3.

What has been announced?

Right now, the airport is being coy about the exact changes, but we do know they plan to expand the post-security departure area.

They claim it will grow by around 2,000 square feet by using some space in the terminal that has been “out of use since late last year”. The space being utilised was previously designated as pre-security.

This expansion will not only give passengers more room to move around, but also “increase natural light levels” and add more shops.

Hasn’t T3 been upgraded already?

Yes. The upper floor is now a giant sports bar (Sporting Chance). This was previously used by airport lounges, and housed the old British Airways lounge, the old Escape lounge and a smaller lounge that, at one point in time, was the airport’s premium 1903 Lounge.

A new Italian restaurant was previously announced, and it will open very soon. Beyond new spaces to eat and drink, the security and entrance to T3 were changed, and parts of the old T1 were utilised for both. T3 and T1 are connected, so that’s allowed the airport to cannibalise space in the now-closed T1 to make T3 better.

The new round of changes is expected to be completed in 2028.

What shops will be opening?

A “competitive tender” will be happening soon to determine which shops will be allowed in the new space. The answer is really based on one fundamental factor: revenue.

Shops in airports will often be franchised, meaning that revenue flows to the franchisee (the airport) and not to the brand. That means the best airport shops straddle being well-suited to passenger needs and generating revenue.

Since T3 is the Ryanair terminal, that means a careful alignment with passengers. There are no premium cabins flying out of T3, so the disposable income of passengers is, in theory at least, lower.

At the time of writing T3 has very few places to actually buy things. There’s a WH Smith, a World Duty Free and an InMotion. There is also a Sainsbury’s in arrivals. There used to be a very useful Boots in T3 but that’s closed down. T2, by comparison, has sixteen shops.

Why is the airport focused on the Ryanair terminal?

Money. MAN likely need to find some money in the medium term.

Upcoming headwinds around parking, specifically drop-off charges, mean that they could be facing a small hole in their finances. A much larger hole may appear when the dust settles on the recent hack. That will take years to work through the courts, if it even reaches that stage, but the airport group could be on the hook for a large sum. Now is the time to rinse passengers for all they can to build up some cash reserves.

The airport had around £270m in its last accounts, with the ability to draw down from credit facilities and increase its cash position up to £700m. That is not an insignificant amount of money.

Putting the upcoming issues aside, MAG are not shy about generating revenue from its customers. More shops simply means more ways to make money.