Prestwick: Coming to the end of the runway?

Prestwick Airport in Scotland (some way outside Glasgow) is owned by Infratil, the company that owns Manston. Infratil's "vision" for Manston's future is pretty much where Prestwick is now - some freight, and a lot of passengers travelling on budget airlines. Some people just don't learn...

Prestwick Airport has always stuck with its "Pure Dead Brilliant" moniker, despite the outcry from squirming west coasters when it was adopted five years ago. But if you were asked to come up with an accurate description of the airport at present, those of a cruel disposition might be tempted just to omit the last word.

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BBC: Biased Broadcast Coverage?

Yesterday saw the official launch of Manston's latest bid to stuff our ears full of planes, round the clock. Charles Buchanan got favourable coverage on BBC TV, and uncritical coverage on BBC Radio Kent. Not everybody is pleased...

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I saw the news today and felt like hitting the idiot who claims 3000 jobs will be created. What about the thousands of people who will have interrupted sleep and just do not want this????? I feel so angry and helpless.

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Another bid for Night Flights

Headline Findings
By 2018, Manston, as Kent's international airport, through delivering its Master Plan would:

• Generate an additional £65m Gross Value Added (GVA) for the East Kent economy;
• Create 2,070 direct jobs, and a further 1,035 indirect and induced jobs;
• Attract 2,286,000 passengers and handle 167,500 tonnes of freight;
• Support a balanced freight and passenger customer base;
• Create a sustainable and commercially viable South East regional airport.

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Manston boss and KCC make bid to government for east Kent regeneration cash

The second RGF funding bid

Manston airport's chief executive has called on the Government to recognise east Kent's economic problems when allocating the next round of Regional Growth Fund cash. Charles Buchanan is working with Kent County Council to submit an improved bid after a previous application for £10 million was rejected by the team in charge of distributing the £1.4 billion pot.

The Manston bid was for a parkway railway station serving the airport, an extension of the high-speed rail network between Ramsgate and Ashford, and cash to fund a daily air service to an undisclosed "European hub" airport. But the application was dealt a further blow last week when Lord Michael Heseltine - chairman of the RGF inependent advisory panel - hinted at a roadshow in Margate that Kent bids were at a disadvantage because the county's residents can travel short distances to London for work.

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Virginia

I like to think that one of humanity's great redeeming features is the ability to learn from mistakes. To my dismay, it seems that KCC does not learn from its mistakes, which is particularly unfortunate given that these mistakes involve large sums of our money. They've done it before, and they're trying to do it again.

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Ramsgate chooses Beauty not Blues

Well, well, well – what is this that I spy on the blue-tinted map that shows who’s got the power in councils across Kent? A rosy red glow has settled over Ramsgate. Going against the electoral tide for the South East, the Ramsgate lefties spread their scarlet stain across the wards, scooping up seat after seat.

Those in the know point to Labour's pre-election pledge to oppose night flights as being the balance-tipping deal-clincher. Industrious and idle alike, the people of Ramsgate value their beauty sleep, and didn't want Manston to make them ugly. So they put their kisses next to the Labour names.

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Manston is still a hole in the ground

Infratil, the New Zealand-based investment company that owns Manston Airport, has just published its end of year results. The core businesses of energy and power in New Zealnd and Australia fared well, boosting the share price, but the "European airports" (Prestwick and Manston) continued to disappoint investors.

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Whoops Apocalypse!

Here's a detailed report of what appears to have been quite a close call. Afghanistan-based Kam Air's overloaded plane nearly didn't make it. You don't need to be a technical expert to figure out what would happen if 143,700 lbs of aircraft fuel hits the deck.

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Labour's red letter day at expense of Tories

Thanet Conservative party took a pounding in Thursday's district elections, leaving three independent councillors with the power to decide who will lead the council. The Tories were ousted from six seats in Thursday's poll – losing five to Labour and one to a new independent – meaning they forfeit overall control of Thanet council. One of the greatest shocks was the loss of Ramsgate's Nethercourt ward by Tories Jill Kirby and Brenda Rogers to Labour rookies Kim Gibson and Steve Alexandrou.

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Night flights stance 'clinched seats'

One of the crunch seats in last Thursday's poll may have been lost over the issue of night flights from Manston airport. Residents living under the flight path ditched Conservative councillors Jill Kirby and Brenda Rogers for anti-night flight Labour rookies Kim Gibson and Steve Alexandrou. Miss Gibson believes her party's tough stance on night flights clinched the seats.

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Advisory group recommend no night flights at airport

"No flights to be scheduled between 11pm and 7am at Manston" was the recommendation to the council at a meeting of the Airport Working Party this week.  The suggestion was one of ten agreed during the group's final meeting before yesterday's elections.  The advisory group also recommended that:

• There is a period of one hour at either end of the flying day to allow for late and early arriving flights only
• A penalty be applied to any flights arriving during said one hour periods
• No take offs be allowed between 11pm and 7am
• A schedule of exceptions be prepared to include 'mercy flights' aid flights, medical emergencies, aviation emergencies and coastguard movements
• A new Section 106 Agreement be negotiated within 12 months
• Infratil or any future airport operator be asked to contribute to the cost of a council airport officer and that the requirement is included in a new section 106 Agreement
• The AWP considers undertaking an investigation into the relationship between a possible Parkway Station and the Airport and the need for it
• The council request that airport operators Infratil reviews the operation of the Manston Airport Consultatory Committee
• The council request a quarterly report from Infratil on how they perform with regards the 106 agreement

The recommendation will go before a newly formed overview and scrutiny panel on May 19 following the elections which will in turn make its recommendations to the new cabinet.

thisiskent 6th May 2011

Sustainable Aviation

Consultation begins on a sustainable framework for UK aviation

The Aviation Environment Federation (AEF) welcomes today’s statement by the Secretary of State for Transport, Philip Hammond, announcing the launch of a scoping consultation on a new UK aviation policy. This begins a process that will lead to the eventual publication of a ‘sustainable framework policy’ in early 2013.

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Nothing to smile about

The economics of the marketplace are impartial and unforgiving, grimly scything down any business models that are weak, lame or faltering.

Plenty of people want to go to Manchester, and plenty of people want to come to East Kent. Evidently, not enough people want to travel between the two. So the Manchester route failed. Within a year, we'll find out how many people want to travel between East Kent and Belfast.

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Manchester "unsustainable". Belfast "attractive"?

Flybe scraps Manchester service from Manston and launches Belfast flights

Regional airline Flybe is grounding its service between Manston and Manchester and replacing it with a new summer operation to Belfast.

The service to Northern Ireland will operate three times a week and begin on May 26. Flybe said its services between Kent International and Edinburgh were popular and would continue. However, it was suspending its Manchester service from April 4 because passenger numbers had made the flight "economically and environmentally hard to justify."

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Dont rely on Manston

"Dont rely on Manston to rescue East Kent" warn Kent Lib Dems

Liberal Democrats at Kent County Council have welcomed the joint government / Kent County Council plan for the development of East Kent, but warned of the danger of relying too much on any employment opportunities of Manston airport.

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Manston boss backs campaign for fair air fuel

A Kent airport boss has backed a campaign to stop holidays becoming even more expensive for jet-setting Brits. Charles Buchanan, chief executive of Kent International Airport, wants the government to ground any plans for a further rise in air passenger duty in next month's Budget. British holidaymakers already pay more flight tax than anywhere else in Europe.

According to the travel organisation ABTA, a family of four flying from the UK to Australia pay £340 in flight tax, compared to just £11 for an Irish family. It says the government has increased air passenger duty by 2,600% since 1994.

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Oympics to generate "hundreds more flights"

THE number of flights in and out of Lydd Airport could soar during the 2012 Olympics, it has emerged. Speaking at the public inquiry last week, consultant Nigel Deacon, of Airfield Wildlife Management Ltd, admitted the airport has been asked to help bring in "business guests" for the games next year. He said:

"The airport has been accepted to bring in several hundred business guests during the games. There will be significant increase in the number of flights in and out of Lydd, mostly business jets, during that short time. Other airports like Manston will have only a few extra arrivals of this kind."

Mr Deacon explained the details of the deal last Thursday, during cross-examination, as a witness for Lydd Airport.

thisiskent 4th Mar 2011

We love Keith Taylor...

Many thanks for your e-mail about night flights at Kent International Airport and sincere apologies for the delay in getting back to you. I receive a large volume of correspondence on a daily basis and it sometimes takes longer than I would like to respond. Please be assured that this is an issue I am extremely concerned about for many of the reasons you raise in your e-mail and I shall be raising my concerns in the public consultation once it finally starts. I have also signed the 'No Night Flights' petition.

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Decision nears on runway waste plan

The Environment Agency will make a decision next month on plans to allow drainage of runway waste into Pegwell Bay.

The government body invited residents to view the application made by Infratil, the owners of Manston airport, at a meeting in Ramsgate last week.

Infratil wants to upgrade the existing surface water drainage pipeline. If approved, the airport will install an interceptor tank capable of removing runoff water from the taxiways, aprons and runway before discharging the waste into the sea.

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Biggin Hill. Sneaky, sneaky, sneaky.

Biggin Hill Airport will now apply for long-term changes to its lease in the wake of its "Olympic gateway" bid. Critics accused airport bosses of trying to set a precedent for changes to the rules, including longer opening hours and introducing fare-paying passengers, after it submitted an application to relax regulations during the games.

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