Manchester is only 20 minutes drive from Manchester City Centre and has a convenient link road directly from the M56 motorway. Plans for an airport at Manchester were first made in 1926 when the council recognised the need for an airport in the region and the first permanent airport was opened in 1930. The airport is at a different site today and continues to develop as a major gateway form the north with 19 million passengers flying to approximately 170 destinations a year.