Britain's worst airport leaves thousands of passengers stranded

Thousands of holidaymakers headed to Manchester Airport to kick off their Christmas breaks this week.

But many were left stranded after a string of cancellations and delays yesterday at what has recently been dubbed one of Britain's worst airports. 

The issues came after the Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for rainfall in parts of the north-west yesterday, with heavy downpours forecast. 

What's more, one of the hub's two runways was closed, the BBC reports.

Manchester Airport told the news outlet how the 'slower movement of aircraft' was caused by 'low visibility' on the runways. 

There was also 'an issue' on the hub's taxiway which contributed to the problems but was resolved by around lunchtime. 

Delays began early in the morning with flights across Europe being held up from 25 minutes to five hours, according to Manchester Evening News. 

But things escalated throughout the day and by the late afternoon, thousands of passengers had faced disruptions. 

Adrian and Wendy, from Manchester, were heading to Copenhagen when their flight was cancelled. 

They told Manchester Evening News how they were 'fuming' after experiencing an 'absolute nightmare of a day' and would have to pay £400 for a new flight. 

'We've been in the airport since the crack of dawn and we're exhausted,' Adrian said. 

A spokesperson for Manchester Airport said: 'Passenger safety will always be our top priority. At around 6am yesterday a small defect in a taxiway was reported. In order to repair it we had to close one of our two runways which limited the flow of aircraft into the airport causing some delays.

'Repair work was made more challenging by severe weather conditions but it was completed shortly after midday and the runway reopened.'

It comes after the hub was revealed to be among Britain's worst - with two of its three terminals named the country's least pleasant.

Terminal 1 and Terminal 3 finished bottom of the table in Which? magazine's survey of almost 6,000 flyers conducted over 12 months.

Terminal 2 finished fourth from the bottom, surpassing only London Luton and its sister buildings. 

It's a remarkable fall from grace that airport bosses are refusing to recognise year on year, even as travellers bemoan its lack of facilities and dismal delays.

The Manchester Airports Group - which also operates London Stansted and East Midlands Airports - has defended the sprawling 1,400-acre facility, the busiest in Britain outside of the capital.

It claims the surveys are not representative of the daily experiences of the 23million passengers who use it every single year.

The Which? appraisal covered 11 categories, ranging from the rate of late cancellations to customer service, queues for check-in, bag drop and security and the availability of seats, food and drink and toilets.

Manchester's Terminal 3 - home to its Ryanair flights - received an approval score of 43 per cent; Terminal 1, 47 per cent; and Terminal 2, which was expanded and renovated a few years ago, 53 per cent. 

The airport's one saving grace may be that just over one per cent of flights were cancelled with little notice - within 24 hours of intended departure time - between May 2024 and April 2025 according to the Civil Aviation Authority.