Manchester Airport has announced that it has introduced a new operational model for its Terminal 2 that enables domestic and international passengers to share the same arrival and departure infrastructure.
Supported by biometric identity reconciliation delivered in collaboration with Amadeus, which is exhibiting at PTE World 2026, the airport is addressing rising passenger volumes and constrained terminal capacity as part of its £1.3bn (US$1.73bn) transformation program.
Biometric identity reconciliation embedded into the passenger journey enables the airport to confirm a passenger’s eligibility to move through specific zones of the terminal without repeatedly stopping the journey for manual checks. Domestic passengers traveling within the UK’s Common Travel Area can move fluidly through the terminal, while international passengers are directed to standard UK immigration processes, including e-gates or officer-assisted control operated by the UK Border Force.
The initiative means that Manchester Airport can dynamically manage passengers with different regulatory profiles within shared terminal spaces, while maintaining full compliance with UK border and aviation requirements.
Chris Woodroofe, managing director at Manchester Airport, said, “By using biometrics to reconcile passenger identity across different journey types, we can use our space far more intelligently, reduce operational complexity and deliver a consistently high-quality experience for all passengers, while still protecting the integrity of border force operations.”
“Biometrics are not simply about speeding up identity checks,” said Rudy Daniello, executive vice president, AirOps, Amadeus. “They are becoming the foundation for a new generation of airport operations, where digital identity allows physical space to be used far more intelligently. Manchester Airport shows what is possible when identity management, infrastructure, and regulation are designed together.”
Terminal 2’s biometric platform is already able to process tens of thousands of passengers each month, with automated reconciliation rates close to 99% across both inbound and outbound journeys.
The biometric-enabled operating model is now live for passengers using Terminal 2 and flying with airlines including Aer Lingus, Aurigny, British Airways, easyJet and Loganair, for both arriving and departing journeys.
Amadeus is exhibiting at standD270 at PTE World 2026.
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