Innovations including the off-site construction of mezzanine levels to provide extra seating capacity at Stansted Airport are among the engineering solutions Manchester Airports Group (MAG) is putting forward to increase capacity.
MAG currently has a £1bn expansion plan at Manchester airport and a £500M plan for Stansted.
MAG project delivery director Tom Wilne said there was an “aggressive programme” of expansion for Stansted, with the first phase to be completed by summer 2018. The biggest element of the programme will be the £130M new arrivals building. Dealing with the extra capacity is one of the biggest challenges, and it is looking at innovations such as off-site construction of mezzanine levels which can be inserted into the live departures terminal without too much disruption. Wilne said one of the biggest challenges is resources, trying to complete the project in an area where there is no unemployment and competition from Heathrow and Gatwick.
The MAG programme includes the expansion and reconfiguring of Terminal 2 at Manchester Airport. The build will become the airport’s primary terminal building and there will also be improvements to Terminal 3 and a direct link between the two terminals.
The aim is to put the airport “front and centre of the Northern Powerhouse” according to Wilne.
The construction of Terminal 2 is the biggest element of the transformation, but a new route into the airport is also needed and MAG is examining introducing motorway links and looking at the possibility of elevated roadways. The improvement is being delivered by a team including Arcadis, Laing O’Rourke, Galliford Try and Jacobs.
Wilne was speaking at New Civil Engineer’s Airports 2017 conference in London today.
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