Report by John Lavabre
MANCHESTER Airport’s second runway
will be fully operational by summer 2001, it has been announced.
Construction work on the
three-kilometre runway, which will generally be used for take-offs, has been
completed and it is currently being tested so it can be awarded a license by
the Civil Aviation Authority.
The runway has been ten years in the making and cost £172
million to build. Manchester airport chief executive Geoff Muirhead said: “This
development is absolutely critical to our ability to handle more passengers in
the years to come. It will assist airlines the world over in their route
planning and open up further opportunities to provide convenient, frequent and
efficient air services around the globe.”
The airport currently handles 18
million passengers a year but this number is expected to reach 40.7 million by
2015 with the opening of the new runway.