UK’s abandoned airport could relaunch with cheap easyJet and Ryanair flights
Plans are underway to get the runway at Manston Airport in Kent up and running again with the potential for Ryanair, easyJet and Wizz Air flights using the travel hub a decade after it shut
An abandoned airport could soon reopen as it plans to offer cheap flights to some of the popular destinations in Europe.
Plans are underway to get the runway at Manston Airport in Kent up and running again, a decade after the travel hub shut. The airport, which was used by the Royal Air Force during the World Wars, is currently being renovated and is expected to open in 2025.
Initially, it will only serve as a cargo airport. However, talks are underway to add passenger flights from 2028. The renovation of Manston will reportedly cost around £500million and will include new terminals and updated runways.
If the cargo side of the airport is successful, passenger routes to countries like the Netherlands, Spain, Cyprus and Malta could be launched. The airport’s owners are said to be in talks with budget airlines such as Ryanair, easyJet and Wizz Air, it was reported two years ago.
The success of nearby airports Luton and Stansted suggests there may be enough demand in the area for more passenger flights. The airport’s owners, RiverOak Strategic Partners, who bought the site for £14million, will start by operating five cargo flights per day.
The refurbishment plans for Manston Airport were given the green light last August, even though planners had recommended they be turned down. The Planning Inspectorate argued the airport would not provide services “additional to, or different from” other airports, it would be bad for the environment and would lead to more pressure on local roads.
Since 2015, the airport has been used as a lorry park in case of temporary problems with cross-Channel traffic, following its closure after years of lossmaking. The last scheduled flight from Manston left for Amsterdam on 9 April 2014. It was the only big airport operating in Kent, which has a number of smaller aviation facilities including Rochester Airport and Lydd Airport.
RiverOak Strategic Partners said in a statement: “Once reopened, Manston will help the UK trade across the globe, importing vital and time-sensitive goods, including fresh fruit and medical supplies, providing air freight operators with a realistic alternative to the overcrowded London airports, easing the considerable road congestion caused by lorries carrying freight through the channel tunnel to European airports and improving resilience and boost economic growth and jobs in Kent.”
On its website the developer has claimed that the project will create around 650 construction jobs, and 2,000 permanent jobs once fully operational. The firm goes on to add: “The project requires no government funding and has attracted several international investors who are prepared to invest £800 million in this deprived part of the country.”
The developer is dealing with the UK Government rather than the local authority when it comes to planning approval, as Manston has been granted Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project status. It was also granted the all-important Development Consent Order by the Secretary of State for Transport to reopen in 2020 as a cargo hub, only for that to be quashed and then resubmitted and granted again, Kent Messenger reports.
Two weeks ago the Rt Hon Lord Justice Warby granted permission for an appeal of the plans’ approval, following a crowdfunded campaign by local woman Jenny Dawes.
During the Second World War, Manston was nearly wiped out in fierce attacks and was left full of unexploded bombs. Because it was near the frontline, planes that were badly damaged often used it for emergency landings.
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