Manchester Airport unveils new-look Terminal 1 following £80 million investment
Manchester Airport unveils the results of an £80 million investment across its three terminals today. The key element is the £50 million overhaul of Terminal 1, the flagship terminal at Manchester. The Moodie Report Publisher Martin Moodie is there today to report on the opening.
Manchester Airport Commercial Director Andrew Harrison tells Martin Moodie about some of the key principles underpinning Terminal 1's exciting new commercial offer.
Work on T1 has taken place over the last two years and has seen the creation of one of the UK’s largest airside shopping and catering facilities, and a completely redesigned flow within the terminal.
The new airside development in Terminal 1 gives the airport a retail frontage of around 550 linear metres, larger than the major pedestrian shopping zones of King Street and Market Street in Manchester city centre.
On top of the changes launched today, a new Emirates lounge, boarding area and a range of gates are to be added to the terminal, in preparation for Airbus A380 flights, which are expected to begin operating from Manchester within the next two years.
Retailers have spent nearly £15 million on fit-out, creating 52 units, while two of the lounge fit-outs involved investment of over £3.5 million. New stores on site include Kurt Geiger, Fat Face, Mango, Dixons, Starbucks, SoHo Coffee House and Monsoon, which will complement the existing offer from Biza and Attitude that were launched last year. A new offering from BeRelax will offer a spa for passengers with massages and beauty treatments available.
Manchester Airport Managing Director Andrew Cornish said: “Our terminal redesigns have had to withstand the test of time with the liquid ban and the terrorist attack on Glasgow Airport meaning we had to take them back to the drawing board several times, always putting our customers safety and security at the forefront of our designs.
“However with the work finished in Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 set to follow shortly after, the future looks bright. We’ve seen retail growth outstrip the high street over recent years and many of our passengers have enjoyed the offering here at Manchester previously but we wanted to significantly invest in it and now we will wait to see whether those changes have an effect.”
A range of new retail and food & beverage units will complement the Biza store, which opened last year
The new airside zone was designed following an in-depth study into passengers’ state of mind as they travelled through the airport.
Manchester Airport said: "It began with psychologists monitoring the mental workload of travellers, scrutinising their body language and monitoring their comments and conversations to help build up a picture of the emotions passengers experience from arriving at the airport to stepping on board the plane. It identified stress points in the car parks, at check-in and security that passengers were keen to get over with quickly so they could relax and get into the holiday spirit.
"The results were then used by the airport in their decision to redesign the new Terminal in partnership with Milligan, a leading retail property developer. With the process beginning in 2005, those designs have undergone several changes because of the security regime changing such as with the liquids ban in 2006 and the Glasgow terror attack in 2007. The tightened security climate saw Manchester abolishing all “before security” shops in its terminals."
The Nuance Group's flagship 835sq m airside fashion emporium at Manchester Airport T1 is one of the highlights of the £50 million overhaul, which has created one of the UK’s largest airside shopping and catering facilities
Guests will today have the chance to tour the new facility, with Andrew Cornish and Commercial Director Andrew Harrison.
The interactive tour will give guests the chance to take part in activities throughout the terminal. These include a behind-the-scenes look at security with demonstrations of the latest technology, training as a barista in the coffee house, analysing fragrances with the Professeur De Parfum at the Biza store, having a massage in the new Be Relax spa, and experiencing the facial recognition technology at Immigration.
The tour will be followed by an evening of entertainment at the launch of the Manchester International Festival. German band Kraftwerk will kick off the opening night with a performance at the Velodrome in East Manchester, a cycling venue that was constructed for the 2002 Commonwealth Games.