1985 Manchester Airport disaster

The origins of Manchester Airport in England, UK, date back to the 1930s. Construction started on Ringway on 28 November 1935 and it opened partly in June 1937 and completely on 25 June 1938, in Ringway parish north of Wilmslow, from which it derived its original name Manchester (Ringway) Airport. Its north border was Yewtree Lane. Its southeast border was a little northwest of Altrincham Road (Styal). Local roads relevant to this account, on the map below: Yewtree Lane: the lane from the junction by Firtree Farm west to The Grange (east of the crossroads marked "Ringway"), and continuing northwest past Manor Farm to the next junction. Altrincham Road (Styal): the lane from Oversleyford running northeast then east into the Styal area.In World War II, it was the location of RAF Ringway, and was important in the production and repair of military aircraft and training parachutists. After World War II, it gradually expanded to its present size, including massive expansion of aprons, runways and car parking areas. Among the first expansions was car parking and service buildings north of Yewtree Lane. From 1958 to late 1962, Terminal 1 was built: this was the first of Ringway's modern large terminals and the first major public building north of Yewtree Lane. In 1997, the second runway was planned and construction on it started, with protests about it intruding on woodland in the Styal area.

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 2019, it was the third busiest airport in the United Kingdom in terms of passenger numbers and the busiest of those not serving London. The airport comprises three passenger terminals and a cargo terminal. It 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 25 June 1938, it was initially known as Ringway Airport, a name still in local use. In World War II, as RAF Ringway, it was a base for the Royal Air Force. The airport is owned and managed by the Manchester Airport Holdings (trading as 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 a church at the western edge of the airport. Future developments include the £800 million Airport City Manchester logistics, manufacturing, office and hotel space next to the airport. Ongoing and future transport improvements include the £290 million Eastern Link relief road, which opened in October 2018. A High Speed 2 station known as Manchester Airport High Speed station, once earmarked for opening in 2033, was to create a regular sub-ten-minute shuttle service for connecting rail passengers between central Manchester and the Airport while relieving stress on the Styal line to the Airport from Manchester which has become one of the most congested routes on the National Rail network.After the airport handled a record 27.8 million passengers in 2017, it underwent major expansion to double the size of Terminal 2, the first elements opening in 2019. The £1 billion expansion will be completed in 2024 and enable Terminal 2 to handle 35 million passengers. Capacity exists for up to 50 million passengers annually with two runways; however, this potential figure is limited by the airport's restriction to 61 aircraft movements per hour as well as existing terminal sizes to process arrivals and departures effectively.

Royal Air Force Ringway or more simply RAF Ringway is a former Royal Air Force satellite station in Ringway, Cheshire, England, near Manchester. It was operational from 1939 until 1957. The site of the station is now occupied by Manchester Airport.

The Central Landing Establishment was the Second World War British development centre for airborne warfare at RAF Ringway airfield near Manchester.

There are places called Oversley elsewhere in England.Oversley and Oversleyford (sometimes Oversley Ford) is a name used for some places in an area near Manchester Airport. Oversleyford Bridge, where the A538 road from Altrincham to Wilmslow crosses the River Bollin Oversley Lodge Farm (as at August 2011 occupied by an asbestos cleanup firm for training) Oversley Farm, and Oversleyford Brickworks, now obliterated by Runway 2 of Manchester AirportThe name is first recorded in the 13th century as Vulverichelei and seems to come from Anglo-Saxon Wulfrīces lēah (Wulfrīc's clearing or meadow). The ford was probably a few yards north of the modern main road Oversleyford Bridge, where a minor road bridges the Bollin; that minor road is now a back entry to a hotel's front yard but was part of the A538 road before it was diverted for a runway extension. The name Oversleyford is at the middle of the south edge of this old Ordnance Survey map.

Cotterill Clough is a 5.6-hectare (14-acre) nature reserve near Manchester Airport. It is managed by the Cheshire Wildlife Trust and lies within a larger Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The Cotterill Brook, which flows through the reserve, is a tributary of the River Bollin. The reserve was purchased in 1934 by public subscription as a memorial to T. A. Coward (1867–1933), a famous Cheshire naturalist. It is 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) south of Manchester city centre and adjacent to Manchester Airport.

Ringway is a civil parish on the southern border of Manchester, England. Historically in Cheshire, it is the only civil parish in the city of Manchester. The population at the 2011 census was 103. Ringway is home to Manchester Airport.

Morley and Morley Green are neighbouring hamlets in Wilmslow, Cheshire, England. They are situated approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) north west of Wilmslow town centre. Until 1894 the area formed part of the parish of Pownall Fee.Morley is formed from the lines of houses and farms on Morley Green Road and Altrincham Road. Morley Green is the hamlet at the junction of Morley Green Road and Mobberley Road. A Congregational church was opened in Morley Green in 1869; it closed in 2010.

Manchester Airport station is a railway, tram, bus and coach station at Manchester Airport, England which opened at the same time as the second air terminal in 1993. The station is 9+3⁄4 miles (15.7 km) south of Manchester Piccadilly, at the end of a short branch from the Styal line via a triangular junction between Heald Green and Styal stations. Manchester Metrolink tram services were extended to the airport in 2014 and operate to Manchester Victoria.

Ullerwood Castle is an early medieval castle, possibly a shell keep, in Ringway, Manchester, England (grid reference SJ800838). The castle is first referred to in 1173, in a document stating Hamon de Masci held the castles of Ullerwood and Dunham. There is no other contemporary documented reference to the castle. Ullerwood Castle has been confused with Watch Hill Castle in nearby Bowdon, but the two are separate castles, though both probably owned by de Masci. The site is underneath a house and surrounded by trees. ° It is possible that the site of the castle is at the top of Castle Hill at 53°20'57"N, 2°17'32"W. Examination of aerial views of the location on Google Earth indicates a circular structure with less well defined adjacent structures to the South East. The site is very close to a runway at Manchester Airport and lies within a restricted area.

On 27 March 1951 a Douglas Dakota 3 cargo aircraft registered G-AJVZ operated by Air Transport Charter en route from Ringway Airport, Manchester, England, to Nutts Corner Airport, Antrim, Northern Ireland, crashed shortly after takeoff following the failure of the aircraft to gain height. There were two fatalities amongst the crew on board.

Manchester Airport High Speed Station was a planned High Speed 2 station at Manchester Airport, on the southern boundary of Manchester, England, next to Junction 5 of the M56 motorway on the northern side of the airport 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north-west of Manchester Airport railway station.