Manchester Airport · M90 · Wythenshawe, Heald Green, Styal
Two calls. One at 4am. One two weeks later.
Get a price in 2 minutes
Flying in the next few hours? Ring, don't fill this in.
- 25-35 min
- Faster overnight
- No night surcharge
- From £25
- £1m public liability
Everyone within twenty minutes of M90 makes one of two phone calls to a locksmith, and we get both of them constantly.
Call one: 4am, taxi outside, door won't lock
You are flying at six. The taxi is on the drive. The handle needs a shove and this morning it will not go at all, and you are now standing on your own doorstep with a suitcase deciding whether to leave your house unlocked for a fortnight.
This is never a surprise. The multipoint gearbox has been getting stiff for weeks and you have been lifting a bit harder each time. It picks the morning you have somewhere to be because that is the morning you are in a hurry and you force it.
We answer at 4am and overnight is our fastest response to this area, about 25 minutes, because the A34 and the M56 are empty. There is no night surcharge, so a 4am callout costs what a 4pm one costs.
But the honest advice is: if your handle is stiff and you are flying next week, get it done next week. £45-85 on a Tuesday beats £110-200 and a missed flight.
Call two: you land, and the door won't open
The other one, two weeks later, at 11pm, with a suitcase.
- Lock seized while nobody used it
- Key wet, cold and worn: snaps
- Door swelled or dropped in the weather
- Someone had a key and changed something
A lock that gets used twice a day is being cleaned by the key. Leave it for a fortnight in November and the same lock stiffens up. It is not usually broken: £25-45 to service, £65-110 if you are outside and it will not go at all.
The thing that prevents both
A key safe, fitted properly. Not the £15 one from a catalogue screwed into mortar with the screws in the box, which comes off with a crowbar and gives a stranger your front door key. A police-rated one, bolted into brick, somewhere not next to the front door.
Then a neighbour, a friend or a house-sitter can get in if something goes wrong, and you can get in at 11pm when your own key will not turn. £70-140 fitted.
Around here
M90 itself, plus Heald Green, Wythenshawe, Gatley, Styal and the roads out towards Hale and Ringway. Airport hotels and long-stay car parks too, if a room or a unit needs opening.
What it costs
| Job | Price, any hour |
|---|---|
| Multipoint service, before you fly | £45-85 |
| Gearbox replacement | £60-120 |
| Sheared gearbox, door locked, you outside | £110-200 |
| Lock service after a fortnight away | £25-45 |
| Lockout, non-destructive | £65-110 |
| Broken key extraction | £35-70 |
| Police-rated key safe, bolted into brick | £70-140 |
Nearby
Questions people actually ask
My door won't lock and I'm flying in two hours. Can you get here?
Yes, and overnight is genuinely our fastest response to this area, about 25 to 35 minutes, because the A34 and the M56 are empty at 4am. Ring rather than filling in a form. There is no night surcharge, so a 4am callout costs exactly what a 4pm one costs. If the gearbox has sheared with the hooks out, the door is locked into the frame and that is £110 to £200. If the handle is simply refusing to lift, it is often less.
My uPVC door won't lock the morning I'm flying. Why does it always happen then?
Because it was never a surprise, it was a warning you had been living with. The multipoint gearbox has been getting stiff for weeks and you have been lifting a little harder each time without registering it. It picks the morning you have a plane to catch because that is the morning you are in a hurry and you force it. If your handle is stiff and you are flying next week, get it done next week: £45 to £85 on a Tuesday beats £110 to £200 and a missed flight.
I've just landed and my key won't turn. What's happened?
Usually the lock has stiffened while nobody was using it. A lock that gets used twice a day is effectively being cleaned by the key every time. Leave it untouched for a fortnight in November, with damp and cold, and the same lock seizes. Do not force it, especially with a cold key and cold hands, because that is exactly how keys snap. A service is £25 to £45. If you are stood outside at 11pm with a suitcase and it will not go at all, an opening is £65 to £110.
Is a key safe worth it if I travel a lot?
Yes, if it is a proper one. Not the £15 catalogue box screwed into mortar with the screws that came with it, which comes off with a crowbar and hands a stranger your front door key. A police-rated key safe, bolted into brick rather than mortar, and sited somewhere that is not immediately next to the front door, is £70 to £140 fitted. It means a neighbour or house-sitter can get in when something goes wrong, and it means you can get in at 11pm when your own key will not turn.
Do you cover the airport hotels and car parks?
Yes. M90 itself plus Heald Green, Wythenshawe, Gatley, Styal and out towards Hale and Ringway, and that includes airport hotels and long-stay units if a room or a unit needs opening. Response is 25 to 35 minutes and quicker overnight. For anything involving a vehicle, keys locked in a car in long-stay or a lost car key, that is auto locksmith work and we run a separate business for it at autoprolocksmith.co.uk.