Thank you to those who answered my query about developments at Manchester. Scottie Dog - you might be amused to know that when we arrived at Zurich two weeks before we passed a departure gate into the departure lounge, mingling with departure passengers before disappearing into a sideways passage to Swiss border controls and baggage reclaim.
Whatever the problems at Manchester my wife infinitely prefers it to Heathrow or Gatwick and for us on the Trans Pennine rail route, it is normally very easy to get to and from the airport. The basic fact is that where ever you go in the world now there are just more people!