How long to get thru immigration at Manchester airport?

I have only flown into Manchester a few times and have passed through passport control very quickly. Largely due to the line for non EU citizens inevitably being much shorter. However, it is probably luck of the draw - Sunday morning sounds like a quiet time but it probably means they have fewer staff on.

Regardless of that, there is every chance the plane will be late landing, slow getting to the gate, slow disembarking passengers and then you may have to wait a long time for luggage. Unless you have carry on only. I find the time between the plane landing and actually getting off it and then the time waiting for luggage the 2 most time consuming parts.

I would estimate/guess that if all went smoothly - from the time of the plane landing to your leaving the airport would be anywhere between 45 mins to an hour. Add to that the time to get to the train station, how you do that (bus, taxi, is it connected to the airport?) collect your ticket (if applicable) and then find the right platform. All, as you say in a jet lagged state.

If it were me, I would play safe and allow a minimum of 2 hours from the plane's scheduled arrival time. There are always places to while away some time having breakfast or coffee with a newspaper at a train station.

Thanks, Liz -- I'll be traveling with just a carry-on, and the train station is actually inside the airport, so I'm not worrying about baggage claim or getting to the train, just about how long the line will be for non-EU travelers. I don't want to assume that Sunday morning will be quiet!

I fly into man 5-6 times a year and the non-EU line can get pretty long-last week it took over an hour because we came in after an Asian flight with translators required, plus the new entry form you have to fill out before you get the gate is more detailed. Since you are coming from the U.S., along with other flights to land in the A.M., I would look at 90 minutes.

All things considered MAN is my preferred entry point into the U.K.

Bumping this up because it now looks like I'll be flying from the US into Dublin and from there into Manchester.

I only have about an hour to change planes in Dublin. Do I clear immigration there, or in Manchester?

Hi,

In June, I flew from Boston to Scotland with transfer in Dublin (Aer Lingus flight).

Immigration was done in Dublin both ways. Got my passport stamped going over. After that check you clear security to go into the rest of Dublin airport and find your next gate.

On the return trip, I again had to get a passport check from the Irish inspectors, again clear security, and then do the immigration/passport checking for the US at the departure gate. It took almost an hour to get through that! If you have a short layover (less than ~2 hr), you may want to go right to your departure gate after clearing security, though do use a WC first because the four gates allotted for US departures had only 1 WC for each gender and just 3 stalls in the ladies'.

Hi again,

Just noticed the "hour" for the transfer. Doesn't seem like much time. Are you on the same ticket for both legs?

I flew Aer Lingus to Scotland in June, but also to London last year and the immigration part in Dublin, plus clearing security was the same. Arrival in London included a very brief double check of my ticket, not really the line up at a booth w/ inspector experience. Arrival in Edinburgh was just walk off the plane and go.

The new terminal in Dublin is suppose to open in Nov. Not sure when you are going, but when new terminal opens you might be flying into one and out the other.

I'm going next month, so no worries about the new terminal -- just about the 65-minute transfer. Both legs are on the same ticket.

I'm calling Aer Lingus today to sort things out. I'd hate to get most of the way to my destination only to miss the last leg of my trip!