Airport anxiety -Manchester flying Ryanair in August

[User129867588]

please be kind….

I’m starting to feel really anxious that we will miss our flight in august. I know I’m being unreasonable and there is no way to predict what will happen but here are my worries:

Manchester T3 departure at 2pm mid week flight

1. what time shall we arrive at airport. Website says check in doesn’t open until 2 hours before departure and I’ve been told I should get there at least 3 hours before. I am aiming to get there 3-4 hours before to be safe and just queue near check in area. Am I being ridiculous?

2. massive queue to check in bag and have boarding pass stamped ( flying on a non EU passport so this is the process each time I fly with Ryanair)

3. paid for fast track but hearing stories that it doesn’t matter and people still missing flights So am stressing that we will be stuck at security and miss the flight

4. just sheer chaos at the airport is making me anxious 😕 part of me is wishing we weren’t going but excited to have a week away

has anyone flown recently with Ryanair from Manchester? can you tell me what it’s like? I never used to be like this. Damn Covid 😕 this is our first holiday in 3 years - like it will be for many others.

thank you

A few of my colleagues have flown from there recently. First thing (6am ish departures) are bad because lots of large planes leave at the similar time & baggage and security get overwhelmed.
Later in the day should be better & was for them
Look at their departure timetable (Flight stats is a good free app) and see what's scheduled.
Hope all goes well & you enjoy your holiday

Hi I'm in the same boat (or plane!) but figure I can't change anything now anyway so trying not to get too worried. Flights and hotel all booked separately so not sure what would happen if the flight is cancelled, but Ryanair are the only ones flying to our location so can't find alternative flights to book anyway as a back up. All the delays and cancellations I've heard of seem to mostly be easyJet though so I'm just keeping my fingers crossed Ryanair will somehow be ok!

There is something called something like overnight baggage (??) where you drop the luggage off the night before so am wondering about that making things easier. But then again from what I heard in the news some problems have been flight crew delayed from the previous baggage and so on, not the actual flight's luggage itself, so not sure it's worth doing.

Basically it's worrying but I'm trying not to panic at this stage. I found a few posts on Reddit recently with people having more positive experiences so maybe the media is overhyping the situation somewhat.

It was last month so not school holidays but I flew T3 with Ryanair

It was absolutely fine. From carpark to departure lounge in less than half an hour. Our luggage made it.

I would arrive 3 hours before. Or better still, look on your Ryanair info and follow their advice.

you can also check security waiting times on the Manchester airport app

From what I know, I think Ryanair are doing better than many airlines (both budget and not). Whilst I think the queuing at Manchester could be extremely tedious, the airports are now getting quite good at making sure people don't miss their flights, so they have people to go up and down the queue pulling out people whose flights are quite soon.

To check the bag in, you might find this is possible to do the day before - might not be convenient but worth having a look at this option. Another option depending on destination could be a luggage forwarding service?

Either way, make sure you have a change of clothes in your hand luggage so if your bags take the long way round getting to your destination you're not completely stuck.

We're going away twice in the holidays and I am not looking forward to it at all. Which after 3 years is particularly galling. Best of luck - hope it works out.

We flew Easyjet to Spain a couple of weeks ago. Mid afternoon flight. The queues through security were no worse than usual (MAN has always been rubbish).

Easyjet emailed us a couple of days in advance to tell us to arrive 3 hours before the flight.

As a PP said, the big problems are with the early flights.

The biggest problem was that there were lots of people milling around and half of the cafes and restaurants were shut.

I have flown with Ryanair 3 times this year and apart from a short delay everything has been perfect. Stop worrying. You are sucking the joy out of your holidays. Look after what you can control and let the rest go. There is nothing more you can do.

Ryanair cancelled my flight from Manchester in August last week, so perhaps they are being better for the ones they don't cancel by pre-emptively cutting down?

Thank you 🙏 let’s hope it all goes well for us. I also booked accommodation separately and would have to claim through insurance if flight is cancelled as it’s non refundable if cancelled less than a week before. Dropping bags off before won’t help me as need my boarding card stamped but good idea for others reading this thread and worrying about this.

This was meant for you @IronChef

Sorry your flight was cancelled 😞 have you found an alternative?

Thanks everyone, really helps to hear from others and already helping ease my anxiety

Will get the app, thank you. We are getting train so will aim to arrive between 3-4 hours before departure

We are getting train
Without wanting to alarm you further, do you have a back-up plan if there is a train strike that day? (You would have two weeks' notice for that, though).

Yes, we can drive if need be so not too concerned. We just prefer train to take the stress away from driving and parking etc - I am hoping there won’t be a strike when we go but glad they need to give notice

We’re in the same boat. Not sure if we should fast track or not! Is it worth it at the moment?

From what I know, I think Ryanair are doing better than many airlines (both budget and not).

I'm sat at Rome airport waiting for my BA flight. That was originally at 11.30am but that was cancelled a few months ago so now we're on the 8pm (and the 9pm has been cancelled today).

I've been sat looking at the runway for 3 hours and at least five Ryanair flights have taken off. I think I may be looking at the first flight returning to take off again!

As our flight is increasingly delayed and at risk of being cancelled, I'm looking very longingly at all those Ryanair flights.....

My cousin just flew there and back from Manchester to Spain., with Ryan Air. She was early.

@lot123 oh no!! That sucks!! Hope you get your flight back soon.

Pay for priority boarding so you can bring a small case plus hand bag/backpack on board. Pack a couple of changes of clothing and any essentials/valuables. A lot of luggage seems to be getting delayed or lost so I would try and avoid checking in luggage, but if you can't avoid it, do this. Family members have flown recently from manchester and its been pretty quick through security. (mostly annoying at having towait around an airport for so long!!!!)

@StuffYouAllInTheCrust I did fast track when I booked my tickets, it wasn’t much and its not available from my destination with the return flight so really didn’t add upto much. I just booked hotel and we are staying overnight to make it as stress free as possible. Staying by Manchester Piccadilly and with train and hotel it was cheaper than parking for a week and the petrol! Enjoy your holiday ☺️

Just wanted to update- from check in to terminal via fast track it took 15 minutes! Wow! Didn’t even need fast track. Very organised at both check in and security area - now have 3 hours to kill

That’s great to hear. Have a fab holiday! Fingers crossed for us now 😬

We flew Ryanair from Manchester a few days ago from T3 at 5pm. They have self service check in for bags which took literally minutes and security was pretty quick too, both the fast track and normal queue were both short. Our flight was delayed by a couple of hours so we ended up with loads of time to kill! Our flight home was delayed too which they blamed on a lack of staff at Manchester Airport...