Police are ‘willing to step in to do whatever we can’ to solve the chaos at Manchester Airport, Chief Constable Stephen Watson has said today. The Chief, speaking at the site of a dawn raid in Blackley, did however rule out his officers ‘doing baggage handling type tasks’.
GMP has already been deployed to the ailing international airport, to assist in security. That includes increasing ‘our presence such as to just make sure that people keep calm heads on the situation’, Mr Watson added.
He also clarified that he would not put so many officers into the terminals that people in other areas of Greater Manchester would suffer. The Chief Constable told the Manchester Evening News : “We've already put extra police officers in, of course we did over the weekend.
“Of course, you wouldn't expect to see police officers doing baggage handling type tasks, and there is no, there's no prospect of that, because that's not what we've been asked to do. “The issue is that there are a number of issues at the airport. We've got a lot of people who through no fault of their own are stood in very long queues and sometimes some frustration manifests itself. And so we have increased our presence such as to just make sure that people keep calm heads on the situation.
“I do know that between us certainly the airport authorities, the mayor, and all manner of people are acting in good faith to try and bring resolution to these problems. But we are a key partner in assisting with the security element [of] what happens at the airport, and we're willing to step in to do whatever we can to get over this hump.
“It will not however, be at the expense of other duties to the point where Mr.-and-Mrs.- Miggins' in Greater Manchester is going to suffer because all of their police are at the airport and that is not what is being suggested. This is just about us trying to be helpful whilst we get over this sort of post-Covid hump that is currently afflicting the airport as it is with many other organisations.”
Yesterday, Karen Smart — managing director of the Manchester Airports Group — resigned her post to 'pursue fresh career opportunities.
MAG has also announced that Ian Costigan will take on the role of Interim Managing Director and will be in charge of the recruitment drive said to be at the heart of solving the ongoing issues ahead of the summer.
