Manchester Airport (IATA: MAN, ICAO: EGCC) is a major airport located at Ringway in the City of Manchester within Greater Manchester, UK. In 2010 it was 4th busiest airport in the United Kingdom in terms of passenger numbers, and the busiest airport in the UK outside the London region. It was also the 3rd busiest UK airport in terms of total aircraft movements, and the 24th busiest airport in Europe.
A small part of the airport extends into Cheshire East. The terminals are located 7.5 NM (13.9 km; 8.6 mi) southwest of Manchester city centre. It officially opened on 25 June 1938, and was initially known as Ringway Airport. During World War II it was called RAF Ringway, and from 1975 until 1986 the title was Manchester International Airport.
The airport is owned and managed by the Manchester Airports Group (MAG), which is a holding company owned by the ten metropolitan borough councils of Greater Manchester, with Manchester City Council owning the largest stake and is the largest British-owned airport group. The airport has won awards including World's Best Airport 1995 and Travel Weekly Globe Awards' UK Best Airport 2008.
The airport has two parallel runways, three terminals and a ground transport interchange, including a railway station and is one of only seventeen airports in the world with the highest 'Category 10' rating enabling the airport to handle larger 'Code F' aircraft. From September 2010 the airport is one of only seventeen airports in the world to handle the world's largest passenger plane, the Airbus A380, whilst historically the airport has also regularly handled Concorde and currently houses the British Airways G-BOAC flagship Concorde at the Manchester Runway Visitor Park. Manchester Airport has a CAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence (Number P712) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers and for flying instruction.