Flights to Manchester

A flight from London to Manchester airport takes approximately one hour.

Manchester is an affordable destination to visit all year round. However, matchdays for both Manchester City and United can affect accommodation rates across the city, particularly for European games. It’s worth checking the fixture list before you travel.

Manchester Pride, typically held at the end of August, and the Christmas markets are both popular annual events that can also impact prices. Use our low fare finder to find the cheapest time to visit Manchester.

You can adjust a trip to Manchester to fit any budget, and there are lots of great ways to see the best sights while keeping the cost down.

Tours of Old Trafford and the Etihad Stadium are wallet-friendly ways to experience the excitement of Manchester’s footballing giants without paying to watch a Premier League game. You’ll be able to walk down the players’ tunnel, out onto the pitch and sit in the dressing rooms. Manchester City also operate a free kids fanzone before home matches with skills sessions and photo opportunities with the mascots.

Entry to the Manchester Museum is free, and music lovers will find plenty of well-priced live music options on hand. Stoller Hall offers a programme of free lunchtime concerts during the week.

Music fans can also recreate a piece of pop history for free by heading down to the Salford Lads Club – a spot immortalised by The Smiths on the inside sleeve of one of their most iconic albums. You can also take a tour of the listed building with a volunteer and see the Smiths Room covered in messages and pictures from fans.

Trains from Manchester Airport to Manchester Piccadilly train station in the city centre take around 20 minutes. They run every 10 minutes, seven days a week.

When it comes to moving around the city, Manchester’s Metrolink tram network is the quickest and easiest way to get between all the shopping districts and main attractions. The city has lots of marked cycle lanes if you want to hire bikes to explore, and there’s also a free bus service linking the main rail stations. Look out for the City Hosts dotted around the centre, who can offer directions and provide public transport information.

You can also hire a car with British Airways if you want to see more of what Manchester and the surrounding area has to offer. You’ll receive great benefits, with all mandatory charges included and 24-hour customer support, plus you’ll collect Avios points on every rental.

Manchester is synonymous with music, and it hits all the right notes for visitors who want unique attractions, world-renowned events and a cultural hitlist that can match any of the Continent’s biggest cities. Pay a visit to the Royal Exchange Theatre to see a spaceship-like auditorium inside an Edwardian facade, a spaceship-like auditorium, and head for the neon lights of Rusholme’s Curry Mile and enjoy dinner at one the 70 restaurants there. Mackie Mayor is another must-visit spot for foodies. This bustling food hall on the site of the old Smithfield marketplace in the Northern Quarter serves everything from Japanese ramen to fried chicken.

You can book a hand baggage-only ticket or make the most of our generous baggage allowance. If you choose economy standard or one of our British Airways Holidays’ packages, each passenger can check in a bag weighing up to 23kg – in addition to a handbag, laptop case or other small bag. Families travelling in any cabin with younger children can also check in one car seat and one fully collapsible pushchair. Read more about baggage allowances for children.

If you’re flying in our business cabin, you can check in two bags weighing up to 32kg each. Read our baggage guide for full details.

Discover outstanding service from the moment you book. Fly with just hand baggage and you can carry two bags free of charge. Choose our checked baggage option and you can travel with hand baggage and a 23kg bag checked into the hold, plus enjoy free seat selection 24 hours before you fly. On board you’ll find HEPA-filtered air, quality on-board catering, and a warm, uniquely British welcome.  

Simply relax and let us take care of you, every step of the way.

• Flight only prices are updated every 24 hours and are accurate when published. Flights at these prices are limited and may sell out quickly.
• Package holiday prices (flight + hotel or flight + car) prices are updated every 24 to 48 hours and are accurate when published and may vary upon reaching subsequent pages. Availability may be extremely limited particularly during peak periods.
• Return fares displayed are the lowest adult return prices in the cabin specified including taxes, fees and carrier charges, based on a 7-day return journey.
• Each–way fares displayed are the lowest adult each-way prices in the cabin specified based on the lowest adult return prices for a 7 day travel period, including all taxes, fees and carrier charges available in this period.
• One-way fares displayed are the lowest adult prices in the cabin specified including taxes, fees and carrier charges available in this period.
• Package holiday prices (flight + hotel and flight + car) shown are in GBP per person based on 2 adults sharing one room or one car and prices include taxes, fees and carrier charges unless otherwise specified. Flight + car prices based on drivers aged 30-70 years.
• Additional charges will be applied for payments made using a corporate credit card.
• Advertised fares are available on ba.com. Additional charges may apply if purchased through British Airways outlets or travel agents.
• Combine and save on Holidays: Guaranteed savings are only available when booking a Flight + Hotel or Flight + Car booking including one land product, it does not apply to a ‘Customise your trip’ holiday including more than one hotel and / or car.
• Package holidays are protected under British Airways Holidays Ltd by the Civil Aviation Authority. Our ATOL number is 5985.
• Standard British Airways terms and conditions apply