Any folks familiar with the Manchester, NH airport?

[magsmum]

Flying out of MHT in February for President's Week. We've flown out of Logan and Providence many a time, but never Manchester. Looking for advice from those familiar with the airport. How early would you recommend arriving at the airport? We are flying SW and will have boarding passes, but will need to check a fair amount of luggage. Is security tough to get through? The kids and I are leaving on a 7:20 am flight, but DH is leaving at 8:30ish pm. Will route 3N be a disaster heading up from MA on the Friday night before President's Weekend? What's the parking situation like and how much time should we add in to park and get into the baggage check area?

Thanks for any help or advice.

 

[jdb in AZ]

Manchester is a tiny(!) airport. Lots of smaller planes, not too many "grown up" planes. Not familiar with driving from MA on a holiday weekend, but parking and check-in should be a breeze.

 

[lowe@massed.net]

Check-in lines for SWA can be long, especially for early a.m. flights. We usually get there about an hour and a half before our flight. Can't help you out with the traffic question. We take a different route from central MA.

I love this airport. We avoid Logan at all costs!

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[cinmouse]

Super east airport but to address the traffic issue..it will take at least an hour from 128/95 on Rt. 3 to get to the airport in the afternoon/early evening..traffic starts about 3:30 and will be consistent till about 6:30 - 7, I would add time of there is rain or snow

 

[Donna M]

Your DH's traffic could be tough because lots of people will be heading north for skiing.

We usually parked in the big lot (cheapest) and waited maybe 10 minutes at the most for the shuttle.

It would be very easy to drop off your luggage at the curb with the kids (if they're teenagers) and then just you park the car. The airport is very easy to drive around. (Makes the shuttle trip easier)

I'm the nervous type and would rather wait at the airport than have to rush. I would give myself 20 min to park and get into the terminal.

The shuttle driver was telling us about everything they could do to help if you can't find your car or have trouble with it. Made me feel real good about NH.

I love that the airport is smaller than Logan, but the security lines can be long, no comparison to MCO though. When you head up the escalators there should be two lines open that splinter off from there; you can use either side.

We usually only have carry on so I can't help you with a time frame for checking baggage.

 

[firstwdw]

No idea on traffic. But parking is a breeze. We parked in the garage. They have a cross-over enclosed type bridge/ walkway from level 2 of the garage to the terminal/ check in. It was easy and fast. The lines were not too long. We did early bird check in.

 

[monarchsfan16]

Afternoon northbound traffic will be hideous for a holiday weekend, but route 3 will be a better bet than 93.

Generally an hour and a half will be enough time to get through security and check luggage. You can always check and see if the curbside line is short (not many people want to wait in the cold). Even though the ticket counter lines get long, they usually move quickly.

MHT is a GREAT airport to fly from. It's small, but very user friendly. And the TSA people aren't on power trips!

 

[LadyBeBop]

Flew out of MHT once. We had a 6:30 AM flight, and the airport shuttle from our hotel (about ten minutes from the airport) didn't even pick us up until 5 AM. And we still made it to our gate well before 6.

 

[Scrappy_Tink]

My sister (she lives in Laconia) will be flying SW from there this Tuesday, I'll let you know how it goes!!

 

[clanmcculloch]

We've experienced only really friendly and helpful TSA agents at MHT. We really like flying out of this airport.

Keep in mind though that flights heading into President's Day weekend are likely all sold out because all states in the area other than NH have school vacation. Plan for extra traffic heading into the White Mountains for skiing and extra time for every line in the airport. That being said, we fly during NH vacation week and when our flight leaves between 6am and 7am we can easily be walking into the airport 1.5 hours before our flight at be at our gate no less than 45 minutes before our flight, usually more (being a worrier I still like to be at the airport 2 hours before our flight and just hang out relaxing at our gate). The line for SWA bag check can be long and slow but even when the TSA line looks long, it moves very efficiently. I have noticed that most people seem to go straight into the TSA line on the right because the entrance to that line is at the top of the escallator. The line on the left is generally significantly shorter because of this.

I know people say that parking in the satelite parking is cheap and easy but I really like using the terminal parking. It's $85 I think for a week/$17 per day to park right a the terminal. We like to park right near the elevator or on the second floor near the walkway if spots are available. It's wonderful being able to leave our winter coats in the car and rush over to the walkway or elevator without ever having to go outside to get over to the terminal.

 

[londonderrydisneyfan]

Last time we took a early flight out of MHT I was surprised at how long the checkin lines were. We got there ~ 75 minutes early so we made the flight no problem but we didn't have as much time to wait around as normal.

Traffic going north for that weekend will be brutal. I would allow at least an extra hour and even more if the weather is bad. Route 3 is definitely better than going 93 but it will still be bad.

 

[Pooh2]

3 North will be crazy on a Friday holiday weekend so allow for lots of extra time.

My kids fly frequently out of MHT and do not usually encounter any issues checking in. Two weeks ago though, my daughter had EVERY item in her carry-on swabbed! They got to her military uniform on the bottom of the bag and said, ahhh, sorry about that...

 

[magsmum]

Thanks so much for all the feedback. Not sure if DH is going to drop us off at the airport in the wee hours of the am, or if I will be driving and parking. If I drive, I am planning on dropping off my 14 year old and 12 year old to hang with the luggage while my little one and I park. I am worried about DH's time management. I grew up in NH and am well acquainted with what Rte 3 traffic was like before it was widened. We'll head up 495 and I cut through Chelmsford to Rte 3, so that might help DH cut down on the amount of time he spends on 3. I'll have to convince him to give himself lots of time- no easy task. That's why all the luggage will be checked with me- so DH can run through the airport to the gate if need be!

 

[Donna M]

Their website is www.flymanchester.com if you want to familiarize yourself with the airport.