Thanet to play a crucial role in 21st Century Kent

Manston airport will play a pivotal part in Kent's role as the UK's "front door", according to a new report which sets out a long-term vision for the county. The report, commissioned by Kent County Council (KCC) and put together by one of the world's leading architects, Sir Terry Farrell, sets out ambitious plans designed to unlock the area's economic potential.

Many of the aspirations centred on the benefits stemming from the high speed rail line, which council chiefs plan to extend from Ashford and Thanet, further reducing journey times to central London. But infrastructure improvements are also planned at Kent International Airport, which the report says will have a "multimodal interchange" that is linked to the high speed line and forms part of a "co-ordinated national airport network". By 2030, rail passengers will even be able to check in at Ashford International to catch a flight out of Manston.

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Passenger flight plans grounded at Manston

The global financial crisis has delayed plans to run more passenger services out of Kent International Airport. But airport chiefs, confident it is a short-term dip, have published a master plan that foresees gradual expansion over the next 20 years to around six million passengers a year. Freight operations are forecast to reach 400,000 tonnes. Matt Clarke, KIA chief executive, said:

"Like most businesses in the UK aviation marketplace our business has felt the impact of the recession. Our air cargo business has proved itself to be resilient but the recent market activity has delayed our plans for passenger service expansion in 2009.

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In a nutshell: Manston

Manston a.k.a. Kent International Airport is an ex-RAF base in north-east Kent, just west of Ramsgate. It passed from the RAF to Wiggins, then PlaneStation, owners of EUJet (a budget passenger airline). EUJet went bust, and in August 2005 the administrators sold Manston to Infratil, a New Zealand-based multi-national infrastructure investor.

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Fanciful employment figures

Infratil has more than 300 imaginary friends. It's OK though: they're not completely imaginary, because TDC believe in them too. But nobody wants to get bogged down in the humdrum details of where these 300 might actually live and work in real life.

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Airport expansion COSTS jobs

Jobs created at and near airports are heavily outnumbered by jobs lost in the domestic tourism and hospitality industries due to everyone disappearing abroad for 50p with EasyRyan. Cheap flights abroad increase our tourism deficit.

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Airport growth 'flight of fancy'

Green campaigners have said plans to expand a Kent airport to handle up to six million passengers a year by 2033 are "flights of fancy". Kent Green Party has delivered a critical submission in response to Kent International Airport's plans. The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) has also said the plans, revealed on 8 October, are unrealistic.

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Airport hopes to soar above crunch

Clipping: thisiskent

Manston Airport’s owner, Infratil Airports Europe, has posted a loss of £2.2 million in their interim report for the six months of the year up to September 30. Airport chief executive Matt Clarke blamed the loss of freight and charter holiday services and the recent rise in fuel prices.

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Six million passengers for Kent airport

An international travel hub could be created at Kent International Airport at Manston. The 25-year vision from KIA bosses at the former Battle of Britain airfield includes a complex to rival Luton and Stanstead, with passenger intake increasing from 16,000 a year at today’s figures to six million in 2033.

It foresees a second passenger terminal, an extension to the A299 Thanet Way - providing a direct route into the airport for freight and passenger traffic, and a railway station to serve the airport, which aims to take passengers from London St Pancras to Manston in 80 minutes. Two spots have been earmarked for the parkway station - at Cliffsend and the Lord of the Manor roundabout, which is the favoured spot.

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Carter prefers Manston to Boris Island

Kent County Council leader Paul Carter has hit back at Boris Johnson's call for a new airport in the Thames Estuary. Mr Johnson, the Tories' London mayoral candidate, is calling on the Government to reconsider plans for a new airport in the estuary instead of going ahead with the widely opposed plans for a third runway at Heathrow.

But Cllr Carter on the other hand believes Kent International Airport at Manston could be the solution to improve airport capacity and has invited MP Boris Johnson to see for himself.

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Kent's investment in US event "value for money"

What were they thinking?

Kent County Council is to spend £225,000 as a joint sponsor of a major cultural festival in America, it has emerged. The council has agreed to become a key financial backer of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington in 2007 as part of a drive to boost the number of American tourists coming to Kent. Council chiefs say the investment represents “value for money” and could eventually deliver a £50 million fillip to the county’s tourism industry.

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New era dawns at Kent airport

Kent is finally joined by air to the rest of Europe. EUjet’s new low cost services got off to a flying start yesterday when the first flight - a Fokker-100 - took off from Kent International Airport at Manston, at 6.15am for Dublin. It marked the start of a service that is set to boost east Kent and turn Kent at last into an aviation hub. It has already brought 300 new jobs to Thanet and there could be 100 more over the next 18 months.

Flights on day one were 75 per cent full, with more than 600 passengers flying to Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Dublin, Nice and Girona. A smaller number flew back to Manston, reflecting the lack of marketing effort by EUjet at the destination airports. By the end of the year, EUjet will be flying to 22 destinations including Prague, Madrid, Milan, Palma, Malaga, Turin, Edinburgh and Manchester.

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Manston "overlooked" by airport planners

Airport planners have been accused of using out of date facts to ground Manston's chances of easing the looming capacity crisis. They dismissed Thanet's aviation jewel in a couple of paragraphs in the SERAS report that included a controversial airport at Cliffe marshes in a list of options.

But Wiggins Group has told the Government that its advisers overlooked the huge potential of Manston. In its official response to an inquiry into the future development of air transport, Wiggins said the consultants only visited the airport in 1999. Wiggins claimed they took no account of the expert study by Arthur D Little in 2001 suggesting that Manston had the potential to grow into a "sizeable" airport.

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It's your choice, Manston told

Manston Airport has taken a step into the big league by unveiling an £8 million apron and taxiway. Aviation minister David Jamieson officially opened the 10 acres of concrete by cutting a ceremonial ribbon. The new facility can take more and larger aircraft under a master plan that could see £150 million invested in the Thanet airport, including a new terminal and fast rail links with London over the next 10 years.

These plans could see jobs rise from 400 to 6,000, and passenger numbers soar to thee million within five years. Talks are already well advanced with low-cost airlines to operate scheduled services and a deal could be finalised by the end of the year.

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Manston not told of rival airport

Airport chiefs insist that plans for Manston will not be deflected by speculation about a new airport on north Kent marshland. Bosses at Wiggins Group, owners of London Manston, were surprised when they learned about the leaked proposal to develop Cliffe marshes, a unique wildlife site.

According to company sources, they were not consulted about the possibility of a rival terminal just 30 miles away. They also say that experts advising the government about possible sites to cope with the looming capacity crisis spent little time at Manston. In a preliminary report, Cliffe was mentioned as an option alongside possible extra runways at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted.

Wiggins has invested heavily in new navigation aids, is investing £7 million in a new apron and taxiways and has extensive plans for further development, including a new terminal. Before the shock revelations about Cliffe, the group said it hoped to create more than 6,000 jobs and attract 10 million passengers through the terminal over the next 15 years.

Airport director Alastair Robertson condemned the Cliffe proposal. He said:

"We see absolutely no point going through the considerable time, trouble and expansion of building a very speculative airport in an area of environmental sensitivity."

It was ludicrous to consider damaging a wildlife site "when you've got a perfectly viable alternative at Manston which is already operating".

kentonline 12th Mar 2002