Manchester Airport chaos as drivers stuck in queues for an hour in nightmare traffic jams

Manchester Airport was plunged into 'chaos' as drivers say they were trapped for an hour in queues to exit a car park. One taxi driver reported spending over an hour trying to leave the car park after picking up passengers, leading to frustrated motorists 'honking their horns' in what he described as 'manic' scenes.

Images revealed snaking queues in the short stay express pick-up area in Terminal One, which some taxi drivers and card holders were informed had temporarily relocated and repurposed at the meet and greet returns area. The temporary decision was part of 'ongoing efforts to improve safety and efficiency', with further changes anticipated following the closure of Terminal One and major transition to a two-terminal international airport.

However, the change introduced on Wednesday resulted in long queues of cars waiting to exit the car park, with others also 'trapped in spaces'. The airport has since clarified that the queues were not due to layout changes but were caused by an issue with the exit barriers.

A spokesperson confirmed the incident was later resolved and affected passengers and visitors will not be charged for extra time spent in the car park due to the delays.

Jamie Westbury, who operates an airport transfer company, revealed that several of his colleagues received an email from the airport, which has been viewed bythe Manchester Evening News, explaining the reason for relocating the short stay car park.

"They moved it overnight," he stated. "Trying to get in there took 20 minutes, and then it was over an hour to leave the same car park.

"It was utter chaos. It was awful. There's only one entrance to the car park and four exits, but nobody was marshalling it at all.

"I had customers who were waiting. People were wandering around and horns were going manic,. I don't think it's been thought through very well, and at such a busy time when people are still going on holidays.

"Everyone was trying to organise it themselves. I have been dropping off for 14 years and have never seen it this bad."

This follows recent changes announced by the airport regarding how drivers are charged for dropping off and picking up passengers. Barrier-free systems were introduced, allowing motorists to pay online or over the phone by midnight the following day.

In response, a spokesperson for Manchester Airport said: "We are aware of technical issues with barriers that affected the traffic flow in Terminal 1's short stay car park today.

"The issue has been rectified and we have deployed teams to manage the congestion. We apologise for any inconvenience. Drivers will not be charged for extra time spent in the car park as a result of this issue."