Manchester Airport Terminal 3

I’ve downgraded this disastrous airport terminal to 1 star. If I could make it minus I wouldn’t hesitate. Those managing this place must collectively share a single brain cell which doesn’t function very well most of the time. Here’s the thing, we turned up to repeated shouted announcements by a member of staff on how we must be sure to remove liquids, electronics, belts, shoes and so on while making clear that the punishment would be a 45 minute wait if our cases were diverted into the search area. No worries we did everything necessary — no risk for us. Lo and behold one of our cases was diverted. So we stood waiting with no seats available for over 50 minutes. To give an idea of reality there were five patient staff devoted to searching so it’s not that there wasn’t feet on the ground. And they weren’t shirking but the sheer volume of cases being diverted was huge. People were understandably livid — 50 minutes standing at a security zone is unacceptable. When it came to our tired turn the chap hit a code into a screen only to say our bag contained no improper item we were a random search, so despite doing all the right things we still ended up delayed. How is it sensible to have random searches in a place where there the staff are drowning in real necessary searches. I’ve no doubt this won’t make a blind difference to the idiots who manage here but fellow travellers you have been warned.

This is not my favourite terminal (T1 is my favourite of the two, I haven’t flown from T2). Every time I flown from there, the airport was packed, and I often had to sit on the floor.
Also, there is a design flow: sometimes when you enter the waiting lounge after security, you have to stand for 5 – 10 minutes, waiting for a flight to disembark. I have never seen such wonders!
It offers free wi-​if for an hour, Costa coffee (I’d prefer Starbucks, like in T1), Boots, and a couple of other shops. In Dixons you can charge your phone for free (unless its too old model), if you ask them!

Arrived here for a flight to Dublin with RyanAir. Quiet as you like, sailed through check in.
Can’t tell you how it stacks in comparison to other airports as it’s been 15years since I’ve flown.
Great experience so far!

Generally I dislike airport terminals so this was always a hard sell.
Of manchester’s 3 terminals this is the middle standard one (1 being worst, 2 being best).
The amenities are average and the shops are pretty uninspiring. Invariably this terminal is packed with people. Quite often stag and hen parties can be found which usually drags the atmosphere down.
As with all airports, the security process is similar to have needles poked in your eyes.
At least they serve alcohol!

Manchester Airport terminal 3 is a small terminal which serves a few airlines but its not as big as Terminals 1 and 2. British Airways, Ryan Air and a couple of other airlines are used from this terminal, Security is quick and easy to get through. There is only a couple of shops with duty free and there is also a costa coffee. Its not a bad terminal to fly from as its easy to get through and there is enough to do before waiting for your departure.

Flying with RyanAir, never again, the manage to have only 4 desks open for 6 flights!!!

Terminal 3 is probably one of the worst terminals I have seen in an airport, especially in Manchester Airport. I can not choose to avoid here, no matter how hard I beg to Ryanair, I still have to choose them if it means not traveling to my flight from Liverpool, or sacrifice not going at all. Honestly it isn’t that bad with a few nice places for food with some gluten free knowledge and a cool factor to them too: Trattorio Millano and The Lion and the Antelope.
T3 is very small and basically serves as a bus station, but for planes on domestic and european routes. I don’t think you can explain how little they is here, unless you have experienced it yourself. Duty Free, Boots, Costa, WHsmith all have branches here after-​security and Caffe Nero, and WHsmith before, but that is about it.
Even though this is one of the poorer terminals, it still can get pretty busy and I did have quite a long time queuing, considering my expectations of it being a early morning flight, and a «quiet» terminal with «little to nothing»
Terminal 3 isn’t the worst of all terminals, but that still doesn’t mean you should be celebrating traveling from their from your flight, it does have a few places to eat and have a pint before you plane, but if you want something else, or to shop, you’re screwed. 2 stars as it isn’t terrible but still could be so much better!

The train connects you to the city center but to and from the station at the airport is a good walk, and if you are at terminal 3, it is a very long one.
I am surprised how all is narrow. Every passage is just narrower and narrower, the latest after security checks before getting to the main lounge … I though I was going to the bathrooms.
The waiting area is quite pleasant. Nothing super but decent. Plenty of places to eat, coffee or shop. Have to say they have this sit and order at the bar which is somehow confusing, also for the waiters as I noticed more than one error in the short time I was there.
The terminal is decently clean. Old but renewed to modern standards.
Immigration uses the «new» automated passport checking a which are quite fast, pity there are really few posts.
It is a budget airlines airport … you get a bit the feeling :)
Wifi is free for only one hour and not available all over the concourses.

Three stars for terminal three at Manchester, it’s got a few shops and a few cafes — a rather small duty free
It has a new security area with a very quick queue time but it wasn’t finished yet so bits of roof tiles were broken etc !
But it’s only there to get to your flight and staff are friendly !

Well. It’s T3. What can I say. Well on a positive they have upgraded the centre bar and good area to a restaurant and got rid of that horrible canteen style serve yourself breakfast outlet. There is a much wider choice with a little Italian where the food looked lovely but I didn’t have time to eat. There is a small perfumery place compared to the others and the staff seem pleasant enough but no one asked if I needed help. On his occasion I dis so that was little annoying lol. The money exchange is lol. No queue and lady who looked bored to death but be careful they add extras on. No I don’t want buy back I intend to spend spend spend. As for the lounges. Well I was fuming. And I tweeted Manchester Airport but as expected no response. They don’t allow kiss under 6 in. I mean 6. What happens to them when they are 6. They become adults. Anyway it’s ok for short flights but I prefer to travel through another terminal or eve. Via Buis Jet lol

It’s not the best terminal 3 as it look like it could do with a face lift. There are 2 airport lounges here, Escape lounge at a cost of £25 and a BA lounge that you cannot pay to get in, as you have to be travelling business class to enter. There is a relaxing large costa coffee and lots of other places to eat, but the Costa, for a airport it’s not badly priced.

OK here is the run down on the hell hole aka Terminal 3 Manchester Airport!
Hopefully you are reading this before you arrive, if not its still OK just hope the security lines are small and you don’t have to wait in line. If you can therefore pre-​purchase a priority pass /​fast lane pass for security DO at a cost of £3.50 each its worth it, just stay left as you enter security after dropping your bags.
If like me you like the relaxed atmosphere of an airport lounge, then this terminal you have bummed out unless you are flying business with BA. The BA lounge is what you would expect, but I cant afford BA business prices so that excludes me too! The only other lounge is the ‘Escape’ lounge, owned and operated by either CAA or the airports authority. The walk up price of this lounge is £25 each, just to reassure thats not a misprint… Yes £25 pounds when a lounge is usually less than £20. This lounge is small and does not offer value for money as an ‘escape’ as the name suggests.
Here is the deal… Go to the lovely Costa Coffee lounge and sit on the far side as you enter. Here you get a great outside view of the airport and coffee, cakes, breakfast items and everything else associated with Costa at normal prices or even free if you decide to redeem your saved up Costa points! Always ask for the cakes to be bagged up to go and save yourself a few more of your hard earned pennies and points, after all, its No 10 benefitting if you don’t, and haven’t the screwed us enough with all the taxes, hidden or otherwise whilst traveling through an airport??? Enjoy your flight and God speed …

We didn’t actually spend a lot of time here as we were in transit between Glasgow and Newquay.
The transit lounge is alright once you get there up some steps and through a security barrier where you stand on the footprints and look into the camera while your boarding pass gets scanned. This was fine on our way down when there was a human in charge, but on the return leg it was unmanned, leading to much chaos and queues as people were forced to figure out how to scan their boarding pass themselves, inevitably forgetting to look at the camera in the process. We actually passed through this process three times in one journey because somebody had mis-​read the departure gate from the screen (he says, whistling nonchalantly and looking skywards) and we’d gone to the wrong gate. Some gates were pretty directly off the departure lounge, whereas others were strangely located down a small corridor. But we sorted ourselves out eventually.
As I say, we didn’t get much chance to look around the lounge, but there seemed a goodly selection of the usual duty-​free shops and coffee places.

Terminal 3 does the job with it usually being a short haul and domestic terminal but it’s not really somewhere you’d want to get stranded for too long.
Free wifi for an hour and places to hang out in like the Costa coffee, there’s a WH smith and a load of bars/​average restaurants and mini duty free. There’s also a small Boots and some electronic/​gift shops selling stuff which people really don’t need!
If you go mid morning or mid afternoon, the queues at security are usually pretty quiet (from experience anyway) and you can walk to the nearby train station in T2 in ten minutes.

With this mainly being for domestic flights the shops and restaurant options are limited. When flying to Heathrow for a connecting flight to LAX it is a little frustrating! The staff I encountered were incredibly friendly which is a bonus compared to staff I’ve encountered at terminal 1 and 2 mind! I would have liked to visit the executive lounge here but we were too late checking in to make proper use of it.
The airport is clean, tidy and modern with up to date facilities.

Hope none of the guys holding the M-16’s trips and falls! yikes!