As the work is undertaken to add those piers, there will be a significant drop in apron and gate capacity for the duration of those works.
The first (very large) stage of the TP is the expansion of T2 westwards on to
land which is currently car parks. Only after this comes on stream are there plans to start closing existing sections of the terminal complex in sequence. Construction work on the car park site will have minimal impact airside.
you do keeping repeating about the 'very large extension' to T2 as though this will make everything ok.
And why wouldn't it? Are you under the impression that MAG plans to close off the rest of the complex in one swoop when that extension opens? Once the new capacity comes on stream, the next
section of the complex will be closed off for redevelopment in turn. This will be done in digestible chunks. As each new section opens, the next in sequence will then close for works. That is how capacity will be managed in the interim.
All interested parties accept that some operational disruption is inevitable. But MAG has no plans to close such a large portion of terminal in one go that the entire operation will be jeopardised. That would make no sense.
I would have thought that having a vague clue whether the redesigned facilities can actually accommodate their customers effectively would be essential
Indeed it is, and MAG consults with its airline customers on a regular and ongoing basis. But you are talking about deciding gate allocations years ahead of time. This is not practical in the real world. By the time the whole complex opens, some carriers will have merged, some will have failed or withdrawn from MAN, new carriers will have entered the fray, the major alliances will have evolved. It would be crazy to attempt to micro-manage terminal allocations so far in advance.
I suspect if MAG turned round to Ryanair or Easyjet and said "we'll think about where you're going nearer the time", the response would be unprintable...
And I suspect that if MAG asked RYR or EZY to give details of their MAN operation five or ten years from now the answer would be equally unprintable. Actually, they'd probably just laugh. Nobody knows. Every senior executive in the industry understands this.
By the way, don't think in terms of MAN's current three-terminal layout. The completed project will consist of two large terminals
with full connectivity airside. Passengers will have airside access from the easternmost gate on what we today call T3 to the westernmost gate on the complex currently known as T2. This will allow for far greater flexibility in the parking of aircraft and should reduce the need to rely on remotes.