Manchester Airport is axing its free drop-off lanes - leaving people having to pay, or use a shuttle bus based a mile away. 

Passengers being dropped off at the airport by car will soon face a choice as bosses attempt to relieve crippling congestion around the site. 

From June there will be a £3 charge to stop for five minutes outside the terminals, bus and train stations. Up to 10 minutes' parking will cost £4.

Airport bosses are also opening a free off-site drop-off car park on Thorley Lane. 

Based in the former Jet Parks 1 - up to now a long-stay car park for holidaymakers - passengers will be dropped off before taking a shuttle bus to their terminal. 

It will take seven minutes to cover the half mile to terminal two or 12 minutes to bridge the 1.2 mile journey to terminals one and three. 

The 'express drop-off charge' and free parking are aimed at freeing up the hub's congested roads, which have been the subject of a barrage of Twitter complaints in recent months. 

The airport also commissioned a study of the site, which they say shows the forecourts are 'broken'. 

By next year, the report says, there could be 40 per cent more traffic. 

The problem, according to bosses, is caused by 'kiss and fly traffic' - when friends or relatives drop off passengers. 

It's also due to drivers doing 'circuits' of the traffic system to avoid paying for parking. At peak times, the airport says, one in five cars hits the forecourts at least twice.