Off the wire
• French police dismantles migrant camp in Paris  • Creditors vow to work hard to solve Greek debt crisis  • Iraqi PM complains of insufficient int'l support to halt IS  • Weather forecast for world cities -- June 2  • Greece presents "realistic plan" to exit debt crisis: PM  • German jobless rate remains at record low  • Chinese vice president meets president of French Polynesia  • Israel launches nationwide military drill  • Spanish El Celler de Can Roca returns to "best restaurant"  • Weather forecast for major Chinese cities, regions -- June 2  
You are here: 　 Home

Manchester airport announces 1.5 bln USD program to double capacity

Xinhua, June 2, 2015 Adjust font size:

A development program costing 1.5 billion U.S. dollars was announced Tuesday at Manchester airport. The facelift will double the airport's capacity from 25 million passengers a year to 50 million.

Described as the biggest single construction project ever in the Manchester area, the project will see the introduction of new faster high-tech lanes with the aim of clearing passengers through security checks at peak times to just five minutes.

A range of innovative high-tech changes will include a new pre-clearance facility so passengers bound for the United States can get through immigration, customs and agricultural inspection before boarding their flights.

The project is also aimed at attracting airlines and adding new long-haul routes to Asia and the east and west coasts of North America.

Airport CEO Charlie Cornish described the project as a "modern facility geared around a high level of customer service."

Work is due to start next April, with a goal of completing a massive expansion of the airport's terminal two by 2023. The ageing terminal one building, opened in 1962, will be phased out. Endit