Manchester at a glance
Manchester is the UK's third busiest airport and the biggest outside London, with three terminals. Jet2, easyJet, Ryanair and TUI all have large bases here, so the short-haul choice is huge. On top of that, it's the one airport in the north of England with a proper long-haul network.
This list covers the main routes for winter 2026/27, checked in October 2026. Airlines add and drop routes often, and some only fly on certain days, so check the airline's timetable before you plan around a route.
Winter sun
The Canary Islands are the easy winter choice from Manchester. Several airlines fly to all four of the main islands, with flights of about four to four and a half hours:
- Tenerife and Gran Canaria for the most reliable warmth.
- Lanzarote for volcanic scenery and smaller resorts.
- Fuerteventura for long beaches and wind.
Further afield:
- Madeira: regular flights to Funchal, for mild, green winter breaks.
- Cape Verde: easyJet and TUI fly non-stop to Sal, and TUI also flies to Boa Vista. It's warmer than the Canaries in winter, at around six hours.
- Egypt: Jet2 is adding Manchester flights to Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada for winter 2026/27. EasyJet is starting a new route to Cairo's Sphinx airport, the closest to the Pyramids of Giza, from 9 November, twice a week.
Our December and February pages compare how warm each place really is.
Lapland and the snow
Manchester has direct flights to Finnish Lapland this winter:
There are also many Lapland charter packages from Manchester, including day trips. Our post on whether a Lapland day trip is worth it compares them.
For skiing, Jet2 and Ryanair fly to Salzburg from December to April, which is handy for resorts like Zell am See. There are also flights to Geneva for the French and Swiss Alps. Check the days, as ski routes often only fly at weekends.
City breaks and Christmas markets
Jet2's winter 2026/27 programme from Manchester includes Athens, Barcelona, Berlin, Budapest, Cologne, Rome, Gdansk, Krakow, Porto, Prague, Tallinn, Venice and Vienna. It's also adding Strasbourg, home to one of France's best-known Christmas markets.
Ryanair and easyJet add more city routes, including Ryanair's new flights to Warsaw Modlin this winter. If you're choosing between markets, our posts on Vienna or Prague at Christmas and Strasbourg or Colmar might help.
Long-haul from Manchester
This is where Manchester stands out from other regional airports:
- The Gulf: Emirates flies to Dubai, and Qatar Airways flies to Doha around 13 times a week. Both connect onwards to Asia, Africa and Australia.
- Asia: Singapore Airlines flies non-stop to Singapore, which takes about 13 hours. IndiGo flies to Mumbai and Delhi.
- The USA: Virgin Atlantic flies to Orlando, Atlanta and New York. It's moving Orlando to its bigger A350-1000 for winter 2026, with 17% more seats.
- The Caribbean: Virgin Atlantic flies direct to Barbados in winter.
- Canada: Air Canada's Toronto route runs all year from October 2026.
One change to know about: Aer Lingus closed its Manchester long-haul base in March 2026, so its flights to New York, Orlando and Barbados have ended. Virgin Atlantic still covers all three.
Getting to Manchester Airport
Manchester Airport has its own railway station, with direct trains from Manchester Piccadilly and towns across the north of England. There's also a Metrolink tram stop. The M56 runs right next to the airport, but drop-off zones charge, so check current prices or pre-book parking.
The airport has three terminals, and airlines use different ones. Check yours before you set off. For early flights, our post on how early to arrive at Manchester Airport covers timings.
Where could you go from Manchester?
With this much choice, the hard part is picking one. For a first winter sun trip, Tenerife is the safe bet. For something warmer, try Cape Verde. For a short city break, it's hard to beat Krakow or Budapest. Our January and city breaks pages have more.
If everyone wants somewhere different, our guide to how to decide where to go on holiday shows how to settle it. Everyone adds ideas, gives them points, and a draw picks the winner.
