I departed MAN T3 for LHR on a BA Shuttle on the morning of 26th February, just hours before FFMAN posted his adverse comments about security there. I encountered no queue to speak of. No shouting. Staff were courteous. Processing routine. I was pulled aside for a pat-down search; MAN's full-body scanners identity perspiration patches as a potential security threat which is bizarre and inefficient. But I was still through everything in less than five minutes - no sweat ... well, just a bit apparently! Seating was available in the T3 lounge. I found catering outlets there to be of good standard and reasonably priced. Views across the airport are excellent.
I have flown through 451 airports across all continents bar Antarctica, around 25 in the last three months alone. I would rate the MAN user-experience in the top 25%. Not perfect, but where is? Even Singapore Changi, widely acclaimed as the world's best, has issues. Their security search is conducted at the departure gate shortly before boarding. In practice this means queuing in the corridor outside the gate lounge until the security staff turn up. Stunning architecture does not compensate for this. Nor does shopping. And it means you can't take drinks into the gate lounge and onto your flight. Kuala Lumpur's otherwise amazing terminal operates this system too. It's a total pain. At MAN, the security hassle comes early in the airport process ... once done, you can relax and enjoy the airport experience. That's a big plus. Don't take it for granted.
I'm bemused reading some of the hysteria posted on this thread. Where do these people fly to? How often? If they think negotiating security at MAN is challenging then they can't be well travelled. May I recommend changing planes at Casablanca? You haven't lived till you've tried that one! You'll never complain about MAN again.
Whingeing Poms, eh? Sorry, couldn't resist. We love ya really!!!