Originally Posted by
MANFOD
That's not correct. I think it was the winter of 2009/10 that I first recall seeing the notam at a time when there was quite a bit of snow around the country. Even when our own runways and taxiways had been cleared, MAN's reputation as the airport that likes to say No, if it was already established, was enhanced. An airport manager acknowledged there had been criticism and that things had not been handled as well as they might. To be fair, the approach the following winter was much more positive. It was the year when LHR was shut for nearly 4 days after 4" of snow and ice, and MAN accepted quite a few wide-body diversions from LHR and LGW as soon those airports first closed. There were more in the days following but one or two carriers actually re-flight planned to MAN when LHR was still closed - CX was one such airline.
The notam has appeared fairly regularly since then for varying periods before the pandemic.
That's a fair point. I didn't mean to suggest that it had never happened previously, but it certainly became more of a 'standing item' following the commencement of the TP works.