Manchester Barton Aerodrome

About Manchester Barton Aerodrome

Manchester Barton Aerodrome, known as City Airport Manchester between 2007 and 2023, is a general aviation airfield at Barton, in Eccles in the City of Salford, about 6 miles (9 km) west of Manchester city centre. It was renamed City Airport Manchester in 2007, and later also traded as City Airport and Heliport. On 3 April 2023 it went back to its historic name as Manchester Barton Aerodrome, which is the name its official website now uses.

There are no scheduled airline flights. The aerodrome is used for flight training, private and recreational flying, helicopter operations and emergency service helicopters. It is operated by City Airport Ltd, and the Peel Group has owned the site since 2003. According to the operator, about 100 aircraft and 10 aviation businesses are based there, and it handles around 44,000 aircraft movements a year.

The airfield has four grass runways. Air traffic information is given from the control tower by Flight Information Service Officers using the callsign Barton Information. Flying hours are 09:00 to 18:00 local time from Monday to Thursday and 09:00 to 19:00 from Friday to Sunday, or until sunset if earlier. Emergency service helicopters can operate around the clock. Barton was the first municipal airfield in the UK to be licensed by the Air Ministry, and its 1930s control tower is a Grade II listed building.

How to get to Manchester Barton Aerodrome

By road

The aerodrome is on Liverpool Road (A57) in Eccles, and the postcode for sat nav is M30 7SA. Junction 11 of the M60 connects with the A57 towards Eccles and Irlam, so the site is easy to reach from the motorway network. The aerodrome also offers match day parking for events at the nearby AJ Bell Stadium.

Flying at Manchester Barton Aerodrome

Barton has no airline flights, but a range of independent flying schools and aviation businesses are based there:

• Aeroplane training: LAC Flying School trains students for the Private Pilot Licence and Light Aircraft Pilot Licence, and also teaches night ratings and the restricted instrument rating. North West Aerobatics offers aerobatic, tailwheel and upset recovery training for qualified pilots, and Pagoda Flight Training runs flight instructor courses.
• Microlights: Mainair Flying School and Mainair Microlight Centre provide microlight training, and Mainair Flying School also offers trial flights.
• Helicopters: Helicentre offers private and commercial helicopter pilot training, as well as charter and aerial survey work.
• Gyrocopters: North West Gyro trains pilots for the gyroplane licence and runs experience flights around Manchester.
• Experiences and aircraft services: Experience flights and flight simulator sessions can be booked, and the aerodrome also offers aircraft hangarage, maintenance and aircraft shares.
• Emergency services: North West Air Ambulance has two of its helicopters based at Barton, and the National Police Air Service also has a base at the aerodrome.

Before planning a flight, visiting pilots should read the aerodrome's pilot handbook and check runway availability on the Barton ATIS.

Facilities and visitor information

The aerodrome welcomes visitors every day. The Club House restaurant, run by a local farming family, moved to the aerodrome in 2025 and serves an à la carte menu and afternoon teas. The site hosts events such as live music and car boot sales and is also available as a filming location. Webcams on the official website show the airfield.

History

Barton Aerodrome opened in January 1930 as Manchester's municipal airport, the first municipal airfield in the UK to be licensed by the Air Ministry. A large hangar was built for Imperial Airways' Argosy airliner, which first landed there in May 1930, and the control tower was completed soon afterwards. In the 1930s Imperial Airways ran a service to Croydon Airport in London, and North Eastern Airways flew de Havilland Dragon Rapides from Barton by 1937. Between 1940 and 1942 Aer Lingus operated occasional Douglas DC-3 flights to Dublin, the largest airliner ever to serve the aerodrome.

During the Second World War the aerodrome was used for military training and for repairing and overhauling aircraft such as Hawker Hurricanes and Vought Corsairs. Fairey Aviation later scrapped surplus aircraft on the site.

The control tower was listed at Grade II on 16 July 1987. The main hangar and workshops and an office building were added to the list at Grade II in April 2003. The Peel Group bought the aerodrome in 2003 and renamed it City Airport Manchester in 2007. Construction of Manchester Heliport began in 2011. The aerodrome was renamed Manchester Barton Aerodrome in April 2023.