Manchester

===Air===
[[File:Manchester Airport.jpg|thumb|Manchester Airport from above]]
{{Main|Manchester Airport}}
[[Manchester Airport]] serves Manchester, [[Northern England]] and [[North Wales]]. The airport is the [[Busiest airports in the United Kingdom by total passenger traffic#2010 / 2011 data|third busiest in the United Kingdom]], with [[Busiest airports in the United Kingdom by total passenger traffic#2012 / 2013 data|over double the number of annual passengers]] of the next busiest non-London airport.<ref name="caa1990">{{cite web |url=http://www.caa.co.uk/Data-and-analysis/UK-aviation-market/Airports/Datasets/UK-Airport-data/Airport-data-1990-onwards/ |title=CAA Airport Data 1990-2014 |website=caa.co.uk |publisher=UK Civil Aviation Authority |access-date=13 March 2017}}</ref> Services cover many destinations in Europe, North America, the [[Caribbean]], Africa, the Middle East, and Asia (with more destinations from Manchester than any other airport in Britain).<ref>{{cite news |first=James |last=Wilson |title=A busy hub of connectivity |work=[[Financial Times]] |publisher=The Financial Times Limited |date=26 April 2007}}</ref> A second runway was opened in 2001 and there have been continued terminal improvements. The airport has the highest rating available: "''Category 10''", encompassing an elite group of airports able to handle "''Code F''" aircraft, including the [[Airbus A380]] and [[Boeing 747-8]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Manchester Airport is Officially 'A380 Ready' |url=http://www.manchesterairport.co.uk/manweb.nsf/Content/A380Ready |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100821061436/http://www.manchesterairport.co.uk/manweb.nsf/Content/A380Ready |archive-date=21 August 2010 |publisher=manchesterairport.co.uk |date=18 August 2010 |access-date=1 September 2010}}</ref> From September 2010 the airport became one of only 17 airports in the world and the only UK airport other than [[Heathrow Airport]] and [[Gatwick Airport]] to operate the Airbus A380.<ref>{{cite news |title=Giant Airbus A380 lands at Manchester Airport |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-11148598 |work=BBC News |date=1 September 2010 |access-date=9 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141017075939/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-11148598 |archive-date=17 October 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref>

A smaller [[City Airport Manchester]] exists {{Convert|9.3|km|abbr=on|0}} to the west of Manchester city centre. It was Manchester's first municipal airport and became the site of the first [[air traffic control]] tower in the UK, and the first municipal airfield in the UK to be licensed by the [[Air Ministry]].<ref name="CAMHIST">{{cite web |url=http://www.cityairportandheliport.com/about-us/airport-history |title=Airport History: City Airport and Heliport |publisher=City Airport Ltd |access-date=9 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140625164943/http://cityairportandheliport.com/about-us/airport-history |archive-date=25 June 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Today, private [[Air charter|charter flights]] and [[general aviation]] use City. It also has a [[Flight training|flight school]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cityairportandheliport.com/learn-to-fly/where-to-start |title=Where to start: City Airport and Heliport |publisher=City Airport Ltd |access-date=9 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140809033457/http://cityairportandheliport.com/learn-to-fly/where-to-start |archive-date=9 August 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> and both the [[Greater Manchester Police#Air Support Unit|Greater Manchester Police Air Support Unit]] and the [[North West Air Ambulance]] have helicopters based there.