Manchester – biggest airport sector loser from cancellation of UK’s HS2 northern rail line. Part one

When the UK's HS2 high-speed rail line northwards out of London was first envisaged well over a decade ago by a previous government the intention was clear - by connecting London to key cities in the Midlands and North of England those cities and their regions would reap tremendous economic benefits and would be 'levelled up' to the living standards found in the southeast of the country.

But bit-by-bit the initial scheme, the costs for which spiralled out of control, has been pared back, initially removing cities like Nottingham, Sheffield and Leeds and their hinterlands from the equation.

Now the UK prime minister, making his keynote speech at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester has pulled the plug on the second phase of the line, which is to Manchester.

The decision on Europe's largest transport infrastructure project has implications for the airport sector, where Birmingham is clearly a winner while Manchester is assuredly not.

This is part one of a two-part report.