To meet the development and growth needs of Manchester Airport, it was recognised in the late 80's and early 90's that, like Heathrow, Stansted and Gatwick Airports serving London, road tanker deliveries of jet fuel to the airport did not represent a long term, cost effective and practical solution. As a consequence, the Manchester Airport Pipeline System (MAPS), for the supply of aviation fuel to Manchester Airport, was developed by Manchester Jetline Limited (MJL), a wholly owned company within the Penspen Group, so removing a continuous flow of road tankers from the highways around the airport.

Manchester Jetline carries Jet A1 fuel from Backford to Manchester Airport in a buried pipeline via Plumley. The system has pumping, filtering and metering facilities and delivers fuel into the holding tanks which are owned and operated by the Airport'

MAPS is operated and maintained by Unipen, a division of the Penspen Group, who managed and designed this pipeline project.