Chaos as Manchester Airport passengers left stranded in the middle of the M60

The passengers' replacement bus service suffered a fault on the motorway

18:05, 11 Aug 2025

The replacement bus service suffered a fault on the motorway(Image: Danny Singh)

Passengers desperately trying to make their flights at Manchester Airport found themselves stranded on the motorway after a bus broke down on Sunday (August 10).

The 'dilapidated' rail replacement bus service, from Huddersfield to Manchester Airport [1], suffered a fault on the M60 at around 4pm.

The replacement bus services are currently running on weekends between Huddersfield and Manchester due to the Transpennine Route Upgrade; a major programme of railway improvements traveling across the Pennines [2] between Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds and York.

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One person on board, who was anxiously trying to make a work-related flight to Geneva, said it took around an hour before a secondary replacement bus arrived, with people forced to sit on the central reservation.

Danny Singh, 50, said he almost missed his flight, and that other passengers on board did, because they arrived too late to check-in their luggage once at the airport.

The bus broke down on the motorway while on the way to the airport(Image: Danny Singh)

"Upon arriving at Huddersfield Station, I found large crowds waiting for train replacement buses. The scheduled 3pm coach to Manchester Airport had not arrived," he told the M.E.N.

"Concerned about missing my flight, which was scheduled to depart at 6.20pm, I considered booking an Uber. At approximately 3.20pm, a dilapidated double-decker bus arrived, to the disappointment of the roughly 20 passengers waiting.

"The bus was in poor condition.

The seats were uncomfortable, there was no air conditioning, open windows made it windy and noisy, and the vehicle was slow.

"Around 50 minutes into the journey, the bus slowed and stopped in a breakdown lane between bidirectional traffic on the M60 [4]. Not on the hard shoulder but a narrow lane, posing safety risks.

"Due to the heat inside the bus and the danger posed by passing traffic, passengers, including myself, exited and stood between motorway barriers for safety."

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Danny said it took around 45 minutes for traffic police to arrive at the scene, and a further 25 minutes for the replacement coach which turned up at 5.20pm - just an hour before his flight.

The 'dilapidated' bus(Image: Danny Singh)

Pictures showed a crowd of around 20 passengers sitting in the middle of the carriageway while they waited for a replacement service.

"Passengers were increasingly frustrated, hot, and anxious about missing flights," he added.

After arriving at the airport, Danny said it was around 5.45pm and that his Geneva flight was boarding.

After running to Terminal 2, he said staff were able to fast-track him through security and allowed him to use his suitcase as hand luggage - but that others were no so fortunate.

But going through the 'mad rush' in security, he was forced to discard liquids due to the restrictions which included an expensive perfume gift for his wife and personal toiletries totalling around GBP200.

"I explained the situation to [airport] staff, and was fortunately allowed to fast-track through security to my gate. However, I could not check luggage and had to discard toiletries and liquids exceeding 100ml due to security restrictions.

While running, I sprained my ankle, adding to the physical toll of the ordeal," Danny added.

"Despite the challenges, I caught my flight, but the experience was physically and emotionally taxing.

Some people certainly missed their flights.

"I sustained a sprained ankle, a grazed and bruised thigh, and significant stress, compounded by the potential financial burden of a missed flight and the loss of personal items."

Transpennine Express has since apologised to the passengers who were affected by the delay, which was caused after the bus 'suffered a fault'.

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Adam Fairclough, Deputy Customer Experience Director for TransPennine Express said: "We'd like to apologise to customers who were affected by the delay to the rail replacement service between Huddersfield and Manchester Airport on Sunday afternoon.

"Unfortunately, the rail replacement service developed a fault, requiring passengers to be safely transferred onto another vehicle.

"This service was in place while Network Rail carries out major improvement works between Mossley and Ravensthorpe every weekend until Sunday, August 17 as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade.

During this time, some journeys will involve rail replacement buses and amended timetables."

References

^ Manchester Airport (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
^ a major programme of railway improvements traveling across the Pennines (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
^ here (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
^ M60 (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
^ HERE (chat.whatsapp.com)