Airport City Manchester has unveiled a new social destination, which will host community and networking events, alongside industry debates.

Platform Airport City, located within Manchester Airport’s Transport Interchange, is a vibrant and interactive space for visitors and employees working at Airport City Manchester to socialise, network and enjoy food and drink from around the world.

Hosted on the last Friday of each month between 12 and 2pm, Platform Airport City brings together a variety of pop-up food stalls from specially-picked traders, alongside local entertainment to provide the soundtrack. Their menus will showcase cuisines from destinations that Manchester Airport flies to alongside the best of the Greater Manchester community.

Among the operators was Kettlebell Kitchen, Manchester’s first healthy fast food restaurant, which set up a pop-up stall at Platform along with traders such as Big Grillie Style, Grindsmith coffee and many more. Kettlebell Kitchen was founded by fitness-fan Carley Jones as an antidote to unhealthy takeaways to offer a nutritious fast food alternative.

This new event space, delivered in partnership with event company Fran Burgess Ltd, is part of the growing prominence of Airport City Manchester within the North West business community. Around 22,000 people work at Manchester Airport on a daily basis and Airport City Manchester is being developed into a £1bn, mixed-use, 130-acre site that will feature premium office space, hotels, advanced manufacturing and logistics facilities.

John McHugh, Head of Strategic and Commercial Marketing, said: “We’re creating a vibrant community at Airport City Manchester, which was clearly evident at the pop-up food events within our new social event space. Platform Airport City will host a variety of events from networking and socialising to industry debates and seminars, which will hopefully be of interest to those working at Airport City and the local community.

“The social gathering proved to be a lively and engaging way to bring different people together and will become a permanent fixture in our events calendar. The quality and choice of food was a real draw and it’s a great way to showcase what Manchester has to offer as well as get a taste of some of the airport’s global destinations.”

Carley Jones, CEO, Kettlebell Kitchen, said: “Airport City has really smashed it with Platform. It’s a great place to bring people who work here together, but also offer something a bit different to passengers making their way through the Airport. It fits really well with our crusade to change the perception of takeaways and prove they can be healthy.

“The reaction to our pop-up food offer was phenomenal and not only proves our concept works, but further encourages us to push on with our strategy of opening Kettlebell Kitchen locations across the country.”