Airport staff turned Christmas elves as they donated £10,000 worth of presents for neighbouring communities

Colleagues at Manchester Airport donated more than £10,000 worth of gifts to local people, that were distributed by more than a dozen community centres, food banks, care homes and homeless accommodation across the region. 

The airport’s annual ‘Giftmas’ appeal, which aims to reach children and vulnerable adults who would otherwise not wake up to a present on Christmas morning, triggered a huge response with around 1,000 gifts gathered by airport colleagues. 

The donated gifts included books, jigsaws, toys, socks, gloves, colouring sets and school supplies. The airport then topped this up with more than 1,500 additional gifts, to a total of 2,500 Christmas presents. 

Managing Director Chris Woodroofe and other members of the airport’s senior leadership were among the airport staff who volunteered their time to wrap the presents, which were distributed to around a dozen community centres, care homes, family charities and foodbanks over the past week.

The airport’s Community Engagement team organised the collection and distribution of the gifts and were also involved in a number of other projects to support those living close to the airport throughout 2025. These  included an ‘Autumn Leaves’ lunch for people aged over 65 in the Woodhouse Park area, in an effort to combat social isolation in older age groups, and more than £100,000 worth of donations made to dozens of good causes across Greater Manchester and Cheshire by the airport’s Community Trust Fund.