New documentary follows the reimagining of Manchester Airport’s chandeliers

The project to reimagine Manchester Airport’s historic chandeliers that has seen them reinstalled as a new art installation in its new Terminal 2 has been captured in a documentary on the airport’s YouTube Channel.

Over the last three years the airport has undertaken a project to take one of the old chandeliers and reimagine it to become a breathtaking art installation. The final piece of art – titled Atmospheric Reflections of the North – now hangs in Terminal 2’s state-of-the-art security hall, welcoming passengers to the ‘super terminal’.

The 20-minute documentary was created in collaboration with OddFilms, a Wythenshawe based media company that is part of the Businesses in Wythenshawe (BW3) forum which the airport supports.

Using behind the scenes footage and interviews, the film highlights the various steps, challenges and emotions on the way to the project’s final installation in May 2026. This included the airport’s collaboration with Manchester School of Architecture students, the intricate methods used by leading artist Liam Hopkins of Lazerian, to deliver the project and the celebration as they were unveiled.

The documentary reveals the unique characteristics of the artwork, including the use of parachutes as a tribute to the airport having been a home to a parachute training facility in the Second World War and design details nodding to the flight paths planes use as they leave the airport.

Airport colleagues who have worked on the project and worked with the chandeliers when they were in Terminal 1 were also included in the documentary. Simon Cave, now a senior engineer at the airport, speaks about his time as an apprentice changing the lighting in the original Terminal 1 chandeliers and Rob Sawyer, airport duty manager and airport historian, recounted the chandeliers’ grandeur when they were revealed to the public as Terminal 1 opened in 1962.

The documentary demonstrates the chandeliers’ role in celebrating colleagues and partners of the Terminal 2 transformation, and other key stakeholders who will each receive a unique tag that matches up with ones attached to the parachutes in the terminal.

Chris Woodroofe, Managing Director at Manchester Airport said:

“Here at Manchester Airport we are proud to connect the North to the World and the reimagining of our famous chandeliers – Atmospheric Reflections of the North – is a great way of illustrating that sense of pride.

“This documentary demonstrates the thought and the sheer amount of people involved from the start to the finish of this amazing project. It showcases the creativity behind the new installation that celebrates the airport’s long history serving its passengers, colleagues and local communities.

“The artwork will be a lasting legacy recognising all colleagues involved in the programme to transform Terminal 2.

“I hope everyone enjoys the documentary as much as I have.”