MANCHESTER AIRPORT: MAY 1979 

Manchester Airport (IATA: MAN, ICAO: EGCC) is an international airport in Ringway, Manchester, England, 7.5 nautical miles (13.9 km; 8.6 mi) south-west of Manchester city centre. In 2016, it was the third busiest airport in the United Kingdom in terms of passenger numbers. The airport comprises three passenger terminals and a goods terminal, and is the only airport in the UK other than London Heathrow Airport to operate two runways over 3,280 yd (2,999 m) in length. Manchester Airport covers an area of 560 hectares (1,400 acres) and has flights to 199 destinations, placing the airport thirteenth globally for total destinations served.

Officially opened on the 25th June 1938, it was initially known as Ringway Airport. In the Second World War, as RAF Ringway, it was a base for the Royal Air Force. The airport is owned and managed by the Manchester Airports Group (MAG), a holding company owned by the Australian finance house IFM Investors and the ten metropolitan borough councils of Greater Manchester, with Manchester City Council owning the largest stake.

Ringway, after which the airport was named, is a village with a few buildings and church at the southern edge of the airport. The airport handled 27.8 million passengers in 2017, a record total, and has capacity for up to 50 million passengers annually. This potential figure is limited by the airport's restriction to 61 aircraft movements per hour. Future developments include the 800 million pound Manchester Airport City logistics, manufacturing, office and hotel space next to the airport and transport improvements such as the SEMMMS relief road and a High Speed 2 station.

1979 Strike

The strike started on Friday, the 7th September 1979 in the early afternoon and lasted for 16 days until the 22nd September and was a continuation of a unofficial dispute over pay differentials by 34 Fire Service Officers that had closed Manchester in April 1979.

Around 550 airline flights diverted to Liverpool, with 27 airlines of 19 registration nationalities and with 19 aircraft types. 39 inbound wide-body flights used Liverpool during the strike period - B.747, DC-10, A.300 of CP Air, Wardair, BA, Laker, TIA, Martinair and TEA.

Just before midnight on Friday the 7th G-BGNW Boeing 737 arrived from Alicante on BY059B and just after midnight G-AVRO on BY061B.

Kar Air

One of the aircraft shown belonged to Kar-Air. Karair was an airline from Finland. Initially having offered scheduled passenger flights, the company became a subsidiary of Finnair, mainly operating on holiday charter routes.

Sources: Wikipedia and North West Air News Website.