Manchester Airport was partially closed for three hours overnight after a police chase ended in a car crash outside a terminal which left the driver seriously injured.
Passengers arriving for flights in the early hours of this morning faced disruption after the upper forecourt drop-off zone of Terminal 2 was shut to the public.
Motorists were diverted to the lower forecourt with bosses at the UK’s third busiest airport warning of congestion and journeys taking longer than normal.
Greater Manchester Police said in a tweet at 2.30am: ‘Following a police pursuit, a road traffic collision occurred close to Terminal 2 at Manchester Airport.
‘The driver of the vehicle has been taken to hospital with serious injuries. Due to the location of the collision, disruption is expected for airport passengers.’
A Manchester Airport spokesperson said at 2.50am: ‘Please be aware: due to a road traffic collision, the upper forecourt of Terminal 2 is closed until further notice.
‘All drivers are being redirected to the lower forecourt. As a result, congestion on the site is expected and journeys are likely to take longer than normal. We apologise for any inconvenience.’
In an update just after 5.30am, the airport said: ‘The upper forecourt at Terminal 2 has reopened following the earlier road traffic collision. We thank people for their patience and apologise for any delays.’
The upper forecourt drop-off zone outside terminal two of Manchester Airport (file photo)
Manchester is the UK’s only two-runway airport other than Heathrow, and it was used by 32million passengers last year.
Its scheme to revamp Terminal 3 is ongoing, while a ten-year £1.3 billion transformation which included modernising and doubling the size of Terminal 2, and closing Terminal 1, was recently completed.
Separately today, Manchester Airport was ranked the worst in the UK for flight delays – sparking a warning that passengers cannot book flights from there ‘with any real confidence’.
Departures from the hub were an average of 19-and-a-half minutes behind schedule in 2025, according to analysis of Civil Aviation Authority data.
That was longer than all other UK airports despite it being a 30-second improvement from the previous year.
Responding to the data, the airport said punctuality is ‘affected by factors that are outside of an airport’s control’, with the biggest two factors over the last year being ‘industrial action affecting air traffic control in Europe, and the weather’.