Airport guide · the group organiser’s briefing
Coach & group travel at Manchester Airport
MAN · EGCC · Manchester
How a group is collected by coach at Manchester Airport — the meeting points, the timing, and what we handle for you.
The coach & group pick-up playbook
Every coach and minibus collecting a group at Manchester needs a permit, bought in advance through the airport's AIRDAT 'Onboard' system. The permit includes a waiting window at the Customer Transport Operations Centre and at your terminal; pick-ups in the drop-off zone are enforced by a Traffic Regulation Order and monitored by police, so the permit route is the only sensible one. Here is the flow — register the company, add the vehicle, buy the permit — with the charges Manchester publishes.
| Terminal | Coach stand | Meet your group |
|---|---|---|
| T2 | Paid terminal forecourt (Palma Avenue front bus stops withdrawn); max 3 large vehicles | Arrivals hall — confirm the current meeting point on the day |
| T3 | T3 forecourt on an £8-per-drop-off permit; pick-up limited to 2 vehicles | Arrivals hall — confirm the current meeting point on the day |
“We register every vehicle on the AIRDAT Onboard system and buy the Manchester permit before we travel, so your group is met inside the included waiting window rather than left to a forecourt where pick-ups in the drop-off zone are police-enforced.”— Airport Coaches · first-person operational note
Timing & rules
Buy the permit through the AIRDAT Onboard system before travelling. The permit includes 30 minutes at the CTOC and 30 minutes at the relevant terminal; extra CTOC waiting is £5 per 30 minutes subject to availability. Terminal 2 pick-up is limited to 3 large vehicles at a time; Terminal 3 pick-up to 2 vehicles. The old front two bus stops on Palma Avenue at Terminal 2 are no longer available — coaches use the paid forecourt. Do not pick up in the drop-off zone: the road system is enforced by a Traffic Regulation Order and monitored by police.
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