The drop-off and pick-up areas were closed off causing traffic chaos after a man climbed over a barrier
Signs near the airport warned of a police incident(Image: ASP)
A man has been arrested after an incident caused mayhem at Manchester Airport on Wednesday (May 27). Police had initially been called to a concern for welfare report at Terminal 2.
The drop-off and pick-up forecourts were closed off from lunchtime after it was reported there was a man on the wrong side of fencing on the upper level of the car park.
There was chaos as roads towards the airport became gridlocked, with travellers seen abandoning taxis in the middle of the road and opting to walk with their bags and make their flights.
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One passenger posted on X to say she was ‘sat for half an hour 1.6 miles from the airport’, with heavy traffic affecting drivers. Another reported ‘lots of people waiting at JetPark1 for shuttle bus to T2 as advised’. High Peak bus services terminated a service at Stockport due to the scale of the congestion.
Photographs from the scene showed a huge build up of traffic in and around the airport. “Passengers are having to ditch taxis in a bid to make their flights,” said one person.
Passengers were seen getting out on the road(Image: ASP)
“An elderly disabled woman being dropped off at the roundabout of T2 at 11:40 because everyone was just being told drop off was closed and you had to walk,” another wrote on X, followed by: “Why has this taken so long. Absolute shambles. Chaos outside the airport. No direction.”
Passengers heading to the airport were urged to be dropped off at the free JetParks 1 site and to instead follow the instructions of marshals.
Traffic leading up to the airport was gridlocked(Image: ASP)
Buses are being laid on to take all passengers into the terminal from there and additional patrol staff were deployed to manage the congestion. Terminal 3 was unaffected.
The incident then concluded at around 4pm as Manchester Airport urged passengers to ‘allow plenty of time for their journey’ due to the busy road network around the site. “We are grateful to our passengers for their understanding and patience this afternoon,” a statement added.
Motorists became stuck in queues(Image: Wendy Benson)
Video footage posted online of the incident appeared to show a topless man filming himself walking along the edge of the forecourt, on the wrong side of the barrier, with clips panning to show police on the road below and him swearing at members of staff.
Greater Manchester Police have said a man, aged in his 40s, has since been arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and a public order offence. He has been taken into custody to be questioned by officers. It’s understood the incident is no longer being treated as a welfare incident as first reported following enquiries.