Runway Visitor Park in Manchester

First time we've been there enjoyed it great for the kids to would definitely go again

Lovely day with family, nice atmosphere

Definitely worth visiting especially if you are a plane spotter. The planes are really close by and you can see take off and landing.

Amazing we had so much fun the planes were so close to us I felt like I could touch it. We also did the 360 degree simulator that was so much fun (not for the faint hearted). We also saw a real Concorde and may other planes it was just annoying that you had to have a booking for all the planes when I just wanted to see the inside 😭😭😭 I recommend coming here and being fancy camera 📷 to take massing close up picks of the planes Please react thx.

Brilliant if you visit at weekends with the commentary

Good for plane spotting and a hot or cold snack. Coffee isn't too bad either. Concorde is very cool, book inside tour in advance, toilet facilities, £5 per car entry fee.

Great place for the kids with a brilliant viewing area and loads of picnic benches. £10 for 4hrs parking ok. Tour around concord was available but, at £6pp, a bit expensive. The childrens play area was great but the little funfair very overpriced. Overall, a good day out with the kids.

To busy took ages just to park up.

A great place to have fun with kids

We booked for the Platinum Tour on a Sunday in April which was amazing. Would highly recommend. It's two hours long and very informative and after a cockpit Tour you get a Tour around the aircraft. Please note it took us around an hour to queue into the car park which was outrageous causing some people to be late for the tour. You need to arrive at least an hour before to allow for this.

Great place to visit. Lots of parking. Tickets cost...£5 up to 2 hours, £10 from 2 hours up to 4 hours and £12 for all stays over 4 hours. There is a viewing platform to watch the planes land and take off which is fun...lots of plane spotters there. You can book a tour to go inside Concorde, with or without champagne, or just look at it from outside. The cafe is very good, reasonably priced food which was excellent. There is a shop, a children's playground and nice clean toilets. (I would recommend using the ones inside the centre rather than in the prefab) Staff are great and all in all, we thoroughly enjoyed our visits... we've been twice.

Great place to watch the planes arrive and takeoff and a lovely cafe to visit and a gift shop is a must.

Beautiful day spent a few steps from the take-off/landing runways of Manchester airport, with picnic tables and lots of green space available to everyone. You can then admire some historic British aviation planes. The highlight, however, is the legendary British Airways Concorde housed inside the hangar. With 1 or 2 hour guided tours it is possible to get on board, learn about its history, visit the cockpit, observe the iconic movement of the nose (it was lowered to facilitate the pilots' view at take-off/landing) and walk underneath the vehicle to appreciate its shape and four Rolls-Royce engines up close. There is also a restaurant, souvenir shop and toilets on site.

Nice place. Cafe is good (coffee isn't). Shame you have to pay to see concord and every time I've been Nimrod as been closed. Maybe book to avoid disappointment

As day out at the visitor park as always, great fun for all the family

Great place for any plane enthusiasts

Great views.. lots of picnic tables and a big play area for a family day out. £5 for 2 hours

A genuinely enjoyable day out. Parking is reasonably priced, and you have the choice of bringing your own food or using the on-site cafe. The viewing area is excellent, providing clear, unobstructed views of the aircraft. On weekends, the added tannoy commentary offers interesting details about the planes. A great spot for aviation fans and families seeking a relaxed outing.

Lovely place! You see so many planes take off and land. Highly recommend!

It’s a really wonderful place spend time on a sunny day.

Enjoyable visit but a bit disappointed with the lack of ‘hands on’ experiences for toddlers. Only one aircraft open to visit and the cockpit of that one is behind Perspex with no access as is much of the interior. Was expecting a more interactive aircraft experience

Excellent view for watching the planes land and take off, you are close to the runway. Car parking, cafe, toilets and playground.

We took our grandson he loved it watching the planes take off and land and on the children's playground the price isn't to bad either.

Good relaxing day out watching aircraft.

Our autistic son loves this place, especially the shop 🤣

Work event, only negative would be needs new carpets

Been a few times over the years.

Fantastic viewing will be going back concord platinum tour was very good well worth a visit

Definitely a gem, great to see planes landing and taking off so close, fantastic experience with Concorde, staff all very pleasant and welcoming, cafeteria spot on, definitely recommend

The cafe is not very good. Very disappointed with the breakfast we had there, very basic, no frills, over priced. Take your own food and you should have a nice day. Car park prices start at £5 for upto 2 hours then it's £10 for upto 4 hours.

I loved being there getting up closed to the airplanes and seeing concorde <3

Great day out for a trade show with one of my suppliers, one of the only Concorde planes left and you can book a tour of the plane and even sit in he cockpit with your children, great gift shop and food/drinks available!

The park has improved dramatically since I last went. It now has vastly improved viewing areas with plenty of seating options. It also has a large restaurant serving hot food and drinks with plenty of seating, a large children's play area, an aviation shop and toilets. Great views of the runways.

Amazing spot for AV geeks. Still free access.on foot or by bicycle too

By the runways and the concord hanger at Manchester airport

Great place for all the family!

What a brilliant experience we'll worth a visit highly recommended

Awesome place for plane lovers. Our toddler is obsessed with planes at the moment, and lived seeing the planes take off and land. Free to visit, just have to pay for parking. Kids play area was good, and cafe to get drinks and food.

Brilliant viewing area. The commentary of the planes coming in and out was fantastic. Area is super safe for kids. The cafe was fantastic - food and drink really good. It was busy but that’s a good sign! The Concorde exhibition was fantastic. The model aircraft shop was an absolute treasure drive of planes which the kids enjoyed. Amazing how much fun you can have watching planes! Only downside is that you will be envious of the people flying on holiday!!

Thank you for the excellent service.

Love coming here, bring a picnic and its a great day out for all.

Private Function on so unable to view Concord.

Fantastic very learning disability friendly

Great day out watching the planes. Cafe on site and playground for the kids.

I come here once per month to watch and film planes. It's a great place to come and you can get great close ups of planes taxiing and turning from the runway, but the actual runway itself isn't so close to the viewing area. However, otherwise 10/10 from me!!

Went here to planespot at manchester airport and was brilliant the site was great and the concorde is there if you go you must see it and lots of stalls selling plane models will definitely go again

My 10 year old sons birthday party - Absolutely amazing! The Runway team were fantastic and his whole birthday party, food and the attention the team gave to my son s party was perfect. Seriously - Do you want a kids party that no one else would think of? ... try this! Amazing!

Great day out for all the family!

Great experience for anyone well worth the visit 😊

Don't forget close at 4:00pm and look for your transportation

What a great day out. It was a chilly February day when we went. It must be lush in the summer.

Stopped to kill some time in between dropping off and pick up clients. Grabbed a lovely sausage sandwich and a cup of coffee. With the sun belting down, it's a great way to view the constant aircraft traffic.

Had an early morning visit here,we arrived just after 10am,but for a car/mini meet. The carpark was almost full,inside the cafe definitely was,or very busy. It was a little bit chilly outside on the viewing but we managed to get a decent spot,,seeing the A380 come in. Good place to bring the kids,now with the addition of the tower,letting you know what's coming & going...plus a little funfai,concorde,shop & everything else,parking costs are a little steep,just don't go in school holidays, as then it's a struggle to get on site.✈️✈️✈️

Brilliant place to visit for a family activity or as a plane spotter.

Great place to watch the planes landing and taking off. Can also see Concorde in one of the hangers.

A really enjoyable day out! It's nice being able to watch the Manchester airport planes take off and land with commentary. There are plenty of picnic tables available, a cafe, shop, dining under Concord, and a child's playground and rides. There are opportunities to have tours of some of the planes

Fantastic experience, even better second time and will go back again!

Great seeing concorde kids loved it. Fair ground very expensive. Parking very slow 45min to get parked nearly misses alloted booking time luckily we arrive at destination early.

Great view of the planes landing and taking off. Perfect venue for any aircraft enthusiasts. Nice cafe (lovely hot chocolate) and has a great shop. Awesome to go in and see concorde in person. Great little flight simulator (although do not attempt if you get travel sick!), plenty of toilets. Very out of the way if you don't drive. The aviation memorabilia fair is a great visit but it is incredibly busy to get into the car park when it is on, we're talking 30 minute waits in traffic on the road approach to get in.

Car park is minimum £5.....it's a park with some benches they are giving it more credit than it's worth. For a single visitor £5 is ridiculous.

We arrived at 3:10 and the place was closing at 4pm,they said still winter working times,I belive those times are extended from april or May no idea,but will phone them up next before we make our way to there. I qould recommend,as the planes are aprroaching really close and flying of little farther. Yess deffo recommended.

Fab place to watch planes taking off and landing close up. Awesome to see the concord in the hanger too. Play area for kids. Cafe is a tad pricey but the food was good. No entrance fee just parking to pay. Can get very busy when the weather is not too grotty!

Quick visit, £5 parking for the first 2 hours Two young boys viewing a few planes taking off and taxing back. Worth a flying visit 😏 Did not use the outside playground as it was wet and did not go in the cafe but looked nice.

Updated review from todays experience: Really busy with the management clearly not keeping on top of things. People standing on seats and fencing to see aircraft which spoils the view for the rest of the people watching. No staff made an effort to tell people not to stand on the fencing to allow others to take photos/watch aircraft. The viewing area should really be marshalled. Good views but the platform is a little too low for people who are shorter to get photos without getting barbed wire or fencing in the shot. Parking is steep but there is a cafe, toilets and a shop so guess that sort of justifies the steep price.

Amazing experience! My kids love the place ! They are very happy to see airplanes. Playground, cafe, swings, rides, sitting tables for picnic

Took my two grandchildren aged 8 & 5 to the Visitor Centre. We did the children's tour of the DC10. This was brilliant and I can't speak highly enough of the lady that led the tour. She was really warm and inclusive and made sure every child had the opportunity to try on uniforms, sit in on the flight deck and learn about the different jobs at the airport. Decent value at £14 (which also reduces the cost of parking) My grandson loved the viewing area and really got into which airline was landing and taking off. We were also able to go underneath Concorde (as part of the DC10 tour) and learn about the aircraft which impressed him. We had lunch in the cafe which was rammed (half-term). The staff were doing their best to clear tables and make sure everyone got a seat and generally it worked, but the food offering was very disappointing - over-priced, high fat and poor choice. My advice is take your own food. Overall the park has grown in a haphazard way and could do with some investment to bring some things up to date. We haven't had much rain in the past two weeks but the car park was a lake and the grassed areas very muddy. The main toilet blocks are portacabins and although clean and tidy feel temporary and a bit 'low rent'. There was an outdoor seating area under cover and an outdoor children's play area that unfortunately was very muddy. Most of the planes were not open during our visit. I'm sure this is a money spinner for the airport so come on put some money into it and you will have a first rate attraction. The number of children and adults who were there this week on a cold and wet winter day suggests that there is certainly demand.

We visited hoping to see Concorde but having parked up the display was closed for a private function so we left again but it cost £5 to park

Excellent view of taxiway and runway. Good size cafe. Concord tour was fantastic.

This is a great place for aviation enthusiasts! There's plenty of good spots for viewing and now additional commentary which is informative especially with eta updates if popular aircraft, such as the A380, are running late. I've visited many times over the years, starting when Concorde was parked outside. Sadly now, it's tucked away inside a building and, on my last visit, hidden behind curtains due to a wedding. It's a shame such an iconic aircraft isn't more visible. The Avro, however, is free to visit and you get a great view of the flight deck and many of its 'innards' Yes, £12 to park your car is expensive if you're travelling alone in the vehicle, as I was, however, it's a very fair price for 5 hours, especially if you've a the family in the car. The cafe is fairly averagely priced . A coffee costs £3, but you can bring your own picnic to keep costs down. Plenty of things in the playground to keep the kids amused. Watch out if a trade fair is taking place, it gets very busy! Some good stalls though located beneath Concorde in the hanger.

Absolutely brilliant place, a good view of aircraft taxiing, taking off and landing. Good place to snap some photos and buy some models. The display aircraft there are kept in tip top condition and the concorde tour is amazing. Great fun for aviation enthusiasts like myself. Highly recommend

Greeted with a rude gentleman on the barrier/security, swearing and shouting at members of the public as the carpark was full. Not exactly great customer service. Disappointed

Lovely evening here with a fab visit on concorde..

Aviation fans or those picking up or waving off friends/relatives will love this place. You are so close to the runway and can smell the aviation fuel. The cafe is good and not too expensive, they sell sandwiches, hot drinks and cakes in the main. Parking is quite expensive if you stay for longer than 2 hours at £10. All day parking is £12, no charge to walk in. A decent playground for children, an aviation memorabilia/gift shop and Concorde. Very popular in summer. Dogs not allowed.

Watched some planes taking off and landing from the viewing platform which was ok. Shame that they have built a building almost right in the way of where you want to see the planes taxiing. Nice staff in the Cafe and had a lovely coffee. Nice staff in the hut when paying to leave. Overall a nice day out.

Nice place to visit if like planes

We did the Concorde Platinum Tour on Friday 31st January 2025. The unbelievable but wonderful thing was just the two of us on the whole two hour tour! The tour went by with a blink of an eye, it felt more like five minutes than two hours! Gareth and Tony our tour guides did an amazing job and deserve a special mention. Gareth’s knowledge is second to none. I got the honour of sitting in seat 1A which would have been Queen Elizabeth II seat onboard Concorde and my partner in seat 1B. We really did enjoy the tour and say if you are thinking about doing it, then do it! We loved visiting the flight deck and getting to sit in the Captains seat. And thanks to Tony for the photos of us both. We also enjoyed the Champagne and walking beneath G-BOAC and getting lots of photographs while sipping Champagne, and again Gareth’s knowledge was above and beyond, he certainly knows G-BOAC inside and out literally. There is only one tour to do on G-BOAC and that is definitely the Platinum Concorde Tour, you will want to do it again just like we do and that is a 100% guarantee.

Great day out plane spotting. Cafe does a great meal deal too!

Spectacular backdrop on both sides. Warm room within the concorde hanger made for a very comfortable evening. Great cake!

It’s the perfect spot for aviation enthusiasts and families alike. Watching planes take off and land up close was a thrilling experience, and the Concorde tour was a real highlight—so fascinating to see such an iconic aircraft up close. The facilities are excellent, with a well-maintained playground for kids and a café serving great food and drinks. The staff were friendly and knowledgeable, adding to the experience. Overall, a brilliant day out with plenty to see and do. Highly recommend for anyone who loves planes or just wants a unique and fun outing

A great venue for being able to watch the planes and all airport activity. A large cafe for a drink and food. Well worth a trip out.

Great place for a different day out and good cafe.

If you go on a weekend it can be busy but there is usually commentary to accompany the planes. We spent 1.5 hours here and the car park was £5. You can get a year pass if you go regularly. There is lots to do there with the shop, cafe, playground, Concorde. In the school holidays there are rides and other things to entertain children. You can usually go on the grounded aircraft and tours are available (pre book)

Went here with my son. The viewing platform was really good along with the small tower telling us what planes were taking off and landing, also where they were going to and coming back from. The café was good , also the shop and you could take a tour on the concord that was in the building where the café is.. We had a great couple of hours there.

Awesome place to have a drink, something to it and a bit of plane spotting. Loads to do for the kids. Prices are OK.

Great facilities and viewing platforms. Everything you'd except from a airport viewing experience

My favourite place to go, love watching the planes here and have a good shop. Really fun for aviation lovers ✈️

Great experience seeing a string quartet here. Friendly staff, great space, hope to visit again.

Always come here when visiting Manchester Airport on a spotting trip! Its easy to get to, has a nice café and various historic aircraft you can enjoy. Plus you can book tours of the Concorde (G-BOAC) and there's a nice Aviation Hobby Shop you can get souvenirs in!

Fantastic place, £5 for 2 hour parking, great viewing ramp and places to sit outside or an on site cafe and shop, free toilets also! Great place please keep parking costs low for all fans!

Excellent view of the runway 👍🏻

What a gem. Truly amazing, even on a winters day!

Expensive parking, expensive cafe but friendly staff and good facilities.

The picture looks nice and but by the time I have arrived it was just to close but I will go next time and take some photos

Amazing place to watch some planes. Stunning views

I first went here years ago and it was great but now they have built a building in front of it and the views are restricted from the car park. The cafe is pricey a bit like being in the terminal. I will take my family elsewhere to watch the planes in future

One of the best places to view planes in the Uk!

Amazing area to view planes and loads of parking

Cold wet misty day. Great to visit to see Concorde.

A great place to visit. Loved the concorde tour. Gareth and sandy are brilliant tour guides. Loved seeing the nose droop. Great place to see planes landing and taking off. Very hard to reach through public transport and i feel its the visitor park's responsabillity to keep keep in touch with Manchester airport regarding construction which could block footpaths and to warn guests or publish a detailed walking guide.

Outstanding views and a great spotting area. I'm a bit of an AV geek and spent most my time on the viewing veranda, which gives great views of aircraft taking off from 23L and 23R + landing and the aircraft which have landed exit the runway and pass closely. The staff there will play announcements of what at the aipprt and what's flying above+facts, the staff also will tell you what yhe aircraft is and where it has arrived from or going to e.g. Geneva. The Concorde is also available for a visit and will cost £6 for a 20moj tour. Beware! the gift ship can be expensive, £4.50 for a pen. Overall, great day, gor geeks or a family.