Did Concorde ever land at Manchester Airport?

Concorde's last flight to Manchester Airport was 20 years ago today - YouTube.



Yes, the Concorde was a frequent visitor to Manchester Airport (MAN) throughout its operational history from 1976 to 2003. It was a common site during special charter flights and for major events in the North of England. Most notably, Manchester Airport is now the permanent home of G-BOAC, the flagship of the British Airways Concorde fleet. "Alpha Charlie" made its final flight into Manchester on October 31, 2003, after the retirement of the supersonic fleet. Today, you can visit this iconic aircraft at the Runway Visitor Park at Manchester Airport, where it is housed in a purpose-built hangar. It remains one of the most popular aviation attractions in the UK, offering technical tours that allow visitors to sit in the cockpit and walk through the cabin, serving as a lasting monument to the era of supersonic travel in a city that had a deep affection for the "Great White Bird."

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And so on Wednesday 22nd October 2003 Concorde G-BOAG touched down on Runway 06L at Manchester on its Farewell tour. As usual it brought the airport to a standstill and the great British public had turned out in their thousands.

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Delays and cost overruns increased the programme cost to £1.5–2.1 billion in 1976, (£9–13.2 billion in 2021). Concorde entered service on 21 January of that year with Air France from Paris-Roissy and British Airways from London Heathrow.

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The ownership of Concorde remains with British Airways, and as part of Manchester Airport's original bid to accept the plane, there was a commitment to provide covered accommodation.

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Concorde is sadly no longer flying, but it is still possible to visit some of the remaining 18 airframes, there are others not open to the public but you can still see them.

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Concorde used the most powerful pure jet engines flying commercially. The Aircraft's four engines took advantage of what is known as 'reheat' technology, adding fuel to the final stage of the engine, which produced the extra power required for take-off and the transition to supersonic flight.

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Such speed didn't come cheap, though: A transatlantic flight required the high-maintenance aircraft to gulp jet fuel at the rate of one ton per seat, and the average round-trip price was $12,000.

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Technical, financial, and regulatory hurdles make a return to the skies extremely unlikely. Concorde is an aircraft that captures the imagination and is instantly recognizable even to non-aviation fanatics.

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City Airport Manchester originally and still known as Barton Aerodrome, from January 1930. Manchester Airport, formerly known as Ringway: described here.

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British Airways Concorde G-BOAC Manchester carries out some super tours where you are allowed to sit in the pilot's seat and touch the flight deck controls. A range of tours are offered including a basic 20 minute tour and a more in depth Technical Tour. The viewing park is also home to a Trident and Nimrod.

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Twenty Concorde aircraft were built, six for development and 14 for commercial service. All of these, except two of the production aircraft, are preserved. One aircraft was scrapped in 1994, and another was destroyed in the Air France Flight 4590 crash in 2000.

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Boom Supersonic, the US plane manufacturer, plans to have the answer with its new Overture jet, which is set to transport customers at twice the speed of today's fastest commercial aircraft, and is regarded as the new Concorde.

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The Concorde's retirement was due to a number of factors. The supersonic aircraft was noisy and extremely expensive to operate, which restricted flight availability. The operating costs required fare pricing that was prohibitively high for many consumers.

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The cost of fuel quickly exceeded the profit made from the flight and rendered Concorde unprofitable to operate. Though the cost of the aircraft and fuel proved to be problematic, there were also other underlying issues that contributed to its downfall. Another issue emerged from the restrictions of supersonic travel.

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