Stansted 1, Manston 0

MANSTON airport's chief executive has announced British Airways will not be using the airport for cargo flights. The airport applied for changes to the its legal agreement last month saying a "major global freight carrier", widely speculated to be British Airways, was set to move in.

But in a statement released today (Wednesday, March 11), an airport spokesman said British Airways World Cargo had decided to stay at Stansted airport in Essex.

Chief Executive Matt Clarke said:

“Like any business that bids for a new contract and is unsuccessful, we are obviously disappointed with this news. However, this negotiation was only one of several opportunities we have been pursuing and we are pleased with the level of interest shown by carriers in operating at KIA. We are committed to attracting further freight operators to the airport and ensuring the successful return of scheduled passenger services to a range of destinations in line with the development proposals outlined in our draft master plan.

“The fact that Kent International was considered alongside Stansted shows how far its reputation in the industry has progressed since Infratil acquired it in 2005 and this bodes well for future business. We have now established a solid base of regular freight customers and tonnage has bounced back after the temporary reduction associated with the administration of MK airlines."

 ...from thisiskent.co.uk:

---

So that's BAWC out of the picture. However, as Matt says, there may be others in the pipeline.