Manchester Airport gears up for bumper summer of sport

As the North's global gateway, Manchester Airport is preparing for a very busy summer - but not everyone flying out from the hub over the next few months will be in search of sun, sea and sand. The summer of 2024 promises to be an action-packed one for sports fans - with Euro 2024 quickly followed by the Paris Olympics, and big events in the worlds of tennis, motorsport, boxing and American sport.

Manchester Airport's network of over 200 destinations links the North to all of the action across the globe, from Saudi Arabia to Las Vegas. Here we look at some of the key events in this summer's sporting calendar, and how fans can get there to take in all the big moments in person.

Euro 2024 (Jun 14 - Jul 14)

This summer's UEFA European Championships in Germany will be a festival of football, with England and Scotland both in action. Gareth Southgate's England will be hoping to go one better than at Euro 2020, where they lost the final to Italy in an agonising penalty shootout while Scotland have qualified for successive European Championships for the first time and will hope to do better than ever before by getting out of the group stage.

The Three Lions kick off in Gelsenkirchen with their first group match against Serbia on 16 June - only 45 minutes on public transport from Dusseldorf Airport, to which Eurowings offers direct flights from Manchester Airport. They then travel to play Denmark in Frankfurt, and Slovenia in Cologne - both cities have airports with direct Manchester Airport flights.

England's subsequent knock-out games could take them to other cities across Germany, including Stuttgart, Hamburg, Berlin and Munich - all of which also have direct Manchester Airport flights. In fact, Manchester Airport is the only UK airport outside London with direct flights to each and every city that could host an England game - and more than 100,000 fans are expected to fly out to Germanyfrom Manchester over the course of the tournament.

Scotland play in the opening game of the tournament on 14 June against hosts Germany in Munich before playing Switzerland in Cologne on 19 June and Hungary in Stuttgart - which is the destination for a newly launched route from Manchester with Eurowings - on 23 June.

Paris 2024 Olympics (Jul 26 - Aug 11) and Paralympics (Aug 28 - Sep 8)

The 33^rd Olympiad takes place in France hot on the heels of Euro 2024 and once again, Manchester Airport has fans covered.

The majority of the action will be in and around Paris, the host city, where the Stade de France will host the showpiece track and field events. Manchester Airport has direct flights to two airports in the city - Paris Charles de Gaulle and Paris Orly - ensuring plenty of options for fans wishing to cheer on British medal hopefuls like sprinter Zharnel Hughes, gymnast Max Whitlock and Wigan's Keely Hodgkinson.

Other events will be taking place elsewhere in France, and again, Manchester Airport will provide a link for fans - from football in Bordeaux, Nice and Lyon, to sailing events in Marseille - all of which have direct flights from the northern hub.

Just over two weeks after the Olympic closing ceremony, the Paralympics will get under way - where Mancunians Dame Sarah Storey and Amy Truesdale will be among those vying for gold.

Tennis

Three of tennis' four Grand Slam events take place over the summer months, and all of them can be reached with a direct flight from Manchester Airport.

The French Open starts on 20 May at Roland Garros and runs until 9 June. Manchester's great connectivity with Paris will make it easy to see stars like Novak Djovovic, Naomi Osaka and Brit Cameron Norrie.

Less than a month later, Wimbledon gets underway on 1 July in what is expected to be Andy Murray's swansong at the All England Club. Fans travelling to London from the North West can be in the capital in just an hour on BA's service from Manchester Airport to Heathrow.

At the end of the summer, New York's Flushing Meadows will play host to the US Open (26 Aug - 8 Sep), where Emma Raducanu famously emerged victorious in 2021. Flights from Manchester to New York JFK depart daily.

Boxing & MMA

In the world of boxing, the summer's biggest fight is just around the corner, as this Saturday sees Morecambe-based fighter Tyson Fury take on Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed world heavyweight championship in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Those travelling to support the Gypsy King can travel directly to Saudi Arabia on Saudia's flight from Manchester to Jeddah, with good onward transport links to the country's capital.

For MMA fans, Irish superstar Conor McGregor's return to the Octagon at UFC 303 is the talk of the town. After three years away, he takes on Michael Chandler on June 29 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Earlier in June, Virgin Atlantic will launch its brand-new service from Manchester Airport to the self-styled 'Entertainment Capital of the World'.

Motorsport

With the Formula One season hotting up, defending champion Max Verstappen will be looking to tighten his grip on top spot in the Drivers' Championship standings. The races are set to come thick and fast - but F1 fans in the North West can take their pick of which to attend, with direct flights to no fewer than seven Grand Prix this summer;

Monaco Grand Prix (26 May) - Fly to the French city of Nice with easyJet or Jet2.com, just a one-hour drive from Monaco.

Spanish Grand Prix (23 Jun) - Fly to Barcelona with easyJet, Jet2.com, Ryanair or Vueling.

Austrian Grand Prix (30 Jun) - Fly to Vienna with Austrian Airlines or Ryanair, less than two hours from the Red Bull Ring.

Hungarian Grand Prix (21 Jul) - Fly to Budapest with Jet2.com or Ryanair.

Belgian Grand Prix (28 Jul) - Fly to Charleroi with Ryanair. The Circuit de Spa is a little over an hour away.

Dutch Grand Prix (25 Aug) - Fly to Amsterdam with easyJet or KLM. The Zandvoort Circuit is a 45-minute drive away.

Italian Grand Prix (1 Sep) - Fly to Milan-Bergamo with Ryanair. Monza Circuit is less than an hour away.

Motorcycle racing fans will also be gearing up for one of the biggest events on their calendar, the Isle of Man TT, from 1^st - 8^th June. Both easyJet and Loganair operate services from Manchester to the Isle of Man, where racegoers will be hoping to see one of the sport's icons, Northern Ireland's Michael Dunlop, seal one more TT win to equal his late uncle Joey's record for the most wins at the event.

American sport

American Football aficionados are eagerly awaiting the start of the new NFL season, which kicks off on September 5 - and Manchester Airport's growing route network in North America gives them the opportunity to see some of their heroes in the flesh, without waiting for the annual Wembley game.

NFL fanatics can take their pick from direct flights to the following cities;

Las Vegas, home of the Raiders. Vegas' Allegiant Stadium was the venue for this year's Superbowl.

New York, home of the Jets and the Giants. Fans of the Philadelphia Eagles could also reach their home stadium from New York JFK airport in around an hour and a half.

Atlanta, home of the Falcons.

Houston, home of the Texans.

Orlando doesn't have a team of its own but is less than a two-hour drive from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and around two-and-a-half hours from the Jacksonville Jaguars, who have now played 11 times at Wembley and have a big UK following.

Toronto is only an hour and 45 minutes' drive from the US city of Buffalo, home of the Bills, who have a sizeable following on the Canadian side of the border.

American Football is far from the only sport that visitors from Manchester can take in on a trip Stateside. Basketball fans have the NBA Finalsto look forward to, between 6^th and 23^rd June, where the winners of the NBA's Eastern and Western conference play-offs will go head-to-head in a best-of-seven series for the championship. Among the play-off hopefuls are the New York Knicks, who will host NBA Finals games at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan should they reach that stage.

With the 2024 Major League Baseball season reaching its conclusion, the New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves all remain in contention for a berth in the post-season divisional playoffs, which will determine which two teams contest the World Series this October. And for fans of Ice Hockey, the end-of-season NHL playoffs are already underway, with the New York Rangers among the teams still in the mix.

Manchester Airport's Managing Director, Chris Woodroofe, said: "We're proud to connect the North, helping people to get to the places they want to visit - and with such an action-packed summer of sport ahead of us, that means fans travelling to see their favourite teams and athletes are on to a winner.

"The airport is heading into the summer in good form, with record-breaking passenger numbers and more than 93 per cent of our guests getting through security in under 10 minutes - so sports fans flying from Manchester can be sure of a gold-medal experience."

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