Manchester is the airport West Midlands travellers reach for when Birmingham does not fly where they are going. Long haul routes, more American carriers and a wider spread of budget destinations make it worth the extra distance. The journey is straightforward, but it is long enough that leaving at the wrong time genuinely costs you.
Journey time and distance
From Walsall to Manchester Airport is roughly 75 miles and takes around 90 minutes on a clear run. Realistically you should plan for closer to two hours, and more than that if you are travelling through the morning peak.
The route runs up the M6 past Stafford and Stoke, onto the M56, then into the airport. It is a simple drive with one significant problem: the stretch between Junction 16 and Junction 19 is one of the least reliable pieces of motorway in the country. Roadworks have been near permanent for years.
What it costs
Manchester is priced on distance, so it sits well above a Birmingham run. A standard saloon from Walsall typically lands between £130 and £160 depending on your exact postcode, with larger vehicles rising from there.
That price is fixed at the point of booking. It does not change if the traffic is bad, and it does not change if your flight lands late.
Before writing off the cost, price up the alternative. Two weeks of parking at Manchester plus fuel plus the return drive after a long flight often comes out higher than a transfer, and you finish the trip in a car rather than behind the wheel of one.
Know your terminal before you go
Manchester has three terminals and they are not close together. Ending up at the wrong one means a shuttle ride and lost time you may not have.
- Terminal 1 handles many European and long haul carriers
- Terminal 2 is the expanded terminal used by a growing share of airlines, including most of the long haul traffic
- Terminal 3 is largely domestic and short haul European
Manchester has been moving airlines between terminals as the Terminal 2 expansion has come online, so check your terminal on your booking confirmation rather than assuming it is the same as last time. Tell us when you book and the driver takes you to the right door.
When to leave
Manchester recommends arriving three hours before a long haul flight and two hours for short haul. Add two hours of travel and the early starts get real.
For a 7am long haul departure you want to be at the terminal by 4am, so leaving Walsall around 2am. It is a hard alarm call but the M6 at that hour is genuinely empty and the run is quick.
For an afternoon flight, leaving before 6.30am or after 10am avoids the worst of the northbound morning traffic.
The journey home
Coming back from a long haul flight into Manchester with luggage and a two hour drive ahead of you is where people regret driving themselves. Landing at 6am after a night flight and then facing the M6 is not a safe way to finish a holiday.
Your flight is tracked, so a delayed landing does not need a phone call. The driver adjusts and is there when you actually get out.
Is it worth going to Manchester at all?
Sometimes yes and sometimes no. If Birmingham flies your route at a similar price, Birmingham almost always wins once you account for the travel time at both ends.
Manchester makes sense when the route simply does not exist from Birmingham, when the fare difference is large enough to cover the transfer twice over, or when the schedule works better for connections. For long haul in particular the extra choice is often worth the drive.
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