Having to stay overnight in an airport is always a bleak prospect, but I recently found it necessary to stay overnight in Manchester, and it was not as bad as it could have been. At least in Terminal One, there is an area of vinyl armchairs that can be pushed together into bed-like configurations. The staff also doesn’t do anything to stop you putting your feet up on the little tables. The night I was there, this area looked like an organized encampment, even featuring small children in pajamas and a group of German athletes passing around a communal bottle of Coca-Cola.
Some tips:
Get there and stake out your chair(s) early in the evening. Late-comers (after 11 PM) found themselves out of luck.
Stock up on water first. There is a shortage of public drinking fountains.
Have some 50p coins: the women’s restroom dispenses an assortment of potentially useful things. You will probably not need to buy an emergency condom unless your fellow-travelers are a lot more awake than mine were, but there are also things like hand-wipes and an intriguing product called Chewable Toothbrush. I did not investigate. I am hoping it is basically gum.
Other recommendations: earplugs and an eye mask, if you’re the kind of person who is sensitive to sound and light.
If you’ve already gone through security (past the armchair area) and want a quiet/comfortable place, look for Gate 20. It’s downstairs from the other gates, and has lots of seating that sometimes goes unnoticed when the main level is crammed with passengers.
