Manchester Airport is celebrating three milestones in its £1bn transformation programme.
Firstly, a topping out ceremony was held to mark the extension to Terminal Two reaching its highest point after just more than a year of construction.
The topping out ceremony was attended by some of the apprentices working on the scheme to mark the end of the structural work and aims to bestow good luck on a building.
The terminal is more than doubling in size through the project, which will make it one of the busiest in Europe.
Secondly, a 45m, 85 tonne bridge that will connect the terminal extension with the new multi-storey car park was lifted into place. It took four days and two cranes to install the link, which will open to passengers when the extension opens in 2020.
Time-lapse footage of the installation was today released to bring to life the scale and complexity of the process.
Finally, the main structural work has also been completed on the car park building and will be fully completed by the middle of next year.
The milestone celebrations were shared with apprentices who are working on the transformation – the biggest investment in Manchester Airport’s 80 year history – and local businesses that have secured contracts as part of it.
Andrew Cowan, CEO of Manchester Airport, said: “It is exciting to mark these milestones as they demonstrate how much progress has been made on our transformation programme since starting work just more than a year ago.
“Hopefully this gives our customers an appreciation of how soon they will be able to start making use of these new state-of-the-art facilities.
“This scheme will be transformational, not just in terms of the buildings being created, but the experience we will be able to deliver to passengers and airlines.
“It is also making a major contribution to skills and employment in the region and that is why it was great to share the occasion with many of the people who are working on the project.”
