Here’s all you need to know
Liv Clarke Tourism writer and Gary Porter
12:14, 02 Jan 2026
An artist’s impression of the Great Northern Market foodhall opening in Manchester Airport’s Terminal 2(Image: Manchester Airport)
A lot changed at Manchester Airport last year as the travel hub ticked off several major milestones in its £1.3billion transformation and expansion programme. In the past 12 months the extended Terminal 2 fully opened to the public, work began to upgrade Terminal 3, and Terminal 1 waved goodbye to its last departing flights.
New shops and eateries opened in Terminal 2, including LEGO, Rituals, Pandora, Joe and The Juice and Upper Crust. And in December the first section of the ‘Boutique Mall’ opened to the public, with a number of luxury brands including Chanel, Le Labo and Jo Malone due to open stores in the space this year.
It’s all part of the decade-long transformation plan for the airport, which has seen a huge investment made in Terminal 2, turning it into ‘the beating heart of the airport’. The first part of the project was completed in 2021, when the extension to Terminal 2 was opened.
It’s not just physical changes which have occurred at Manchester Airport in 2025, passenger numbers at the travel hub have also consistently broken records. In the last 12 months it has served nearly 32million passengers, with the goal of reaching 40million by 2030, reports the MEN.
A new section of Manchester Airport’s Terminal 2 Depature’s Lounge has opened to the public(Image: Manchester Airport)
Now we’re in 2026 passengers can still expect further changes at Manchester Airport as the project reaches completion. This includes its first-ever Wetherspoons, a market hall with street food kitchens and a brand-new bar in Terminal 3.
Alongside these developments, Manchester Airport plans to boost passenger numbers even more. New routes are also in the pipeline, with the airport targeting destinations in Europe, America and Japan. Here’s what’s in store for Manchester Airport in 2026.
What changes were made in 2025?
In the last 12 months new sections of the expanded Terminal 2 opened to the public, including a new departures lounge area and the ‘Boutique Mall’, home to an airport-first Fever Tree Cocktail and Champagne Bar. More retailers will open here in the new year.
In 2025 all airlines were moved from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2 as part of the transformation project, except for Ryanair which operates from Terminal 3. Terminal 1 has all but closed to the public: in recent weeks passengers have still used Terminal 1 ‘Departures A’ for outbound flights, although they have been walking to Terminal 3 for their departure gates and amenities.
The airport has welcomed several new routes in 2025 as it continues to expand its extensive network, such as IndiGo’s routes to Mumbai and Delhi in India, and Norse Atlantic Airways’ route to Thailand.
All areas of Manchester Airport’s new T2 have opened(Image: Manchester Airport)
What are the key changes for Terminal 2 in 2026?
In 2026 the new-look Terminal 2 will be fully open to the public. In the first few months of 2026 the final shops and food and drink outlets will be completed. These include the Great Northern Market, a new market hall style eating area served by a range of pop-up street food kitchens; the airport’s first-ever Wetherspoons and the final shops in the Boutique Mall, including Chanel, Le Labo and Jo Malone.
A new baggage hall is set to open in the Terminal. In a nod to the airport’s history, new artwork will be installed made out of one of the old chandeliers from the original Terminal 1.
An artist’s impression of the Great Northern Market foodhall opening in Manchester Airport’s Terminal 2(Image: Manchester Airport)
What are the key changes for Terminal 3 in 2026?
An upgrade of Terminal 3 is already underway with a new sports bar, Sporting Chance, boasting more than 400 seats set to open next year. This will be followed by a new Italian restaurant with further work planned to expand Terminal 3 and add more features.
Terminal 1 will completely close with space used to expand Terminal 3. Around 2,000 signs will be amended around the airport, removing the need to refer to Terminal 1 altogether.
CGI’s show what Manchester Airport’s Terminal 3 will look like following multi-million pound revamp(Image: Manchester Airport)
What else can passengers expect?
To reach its goal of 40 million passengers by 2030, Manchester Airport plans to build on the nearly 32 million passengers served in the last 12 months. Part of this expansion includes new routes, with the airport targeting destinations in Europe, America and Japan.
Another major change which could be announced next year is the Government relaxing rules on the amount of liquids passengers can carry in their hand luggage. New scanners are already installed at Manchester Airport’s security lanes which means passengers don’t have to remove electronic devices and liquids from their bags, but under the current guidance they should still stick to the current 100ml rules.
(Image: Getty)
A Manchester Airport spokesperson said: “2025 was an epic year for Manchester Airport – we’ve almost finished the 10-year, £1.3bn transformation of Terminal 2, seen the last departures from Terminal 1 and added exciting new routes to places like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangkok, Islamabad and more. But we’re not going to rest on our laurels in 2026 and we’re all looking forward to lots of exciting developments for our passengers.
“We’ll be adding the final touches to Terminal 2 and opening exciting new parts of it – like our Great Northern Market, a host of designer shops in our Boutique Mall and our first Wetherspoon’s. We will also unveil our new artwork made out of one of the iconic chandeliers that hung in Terminal 1 when it was opened in the 60s. We’ll also be continuing to work on Terminal 3 – so by this time next year it will be bigger and better than ever – and we’ll be announcing new routes too, so watch this space.”
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