Post by PeterL on Mar 24, 2014 17:00:29 GMT
From The Isle of Thanet Gazette
Manston airport campaigner "horrified" by potential closure
THE CHAIRMAN of Why Not Manston? a campaign group promoting the use of Manston Airport, says a potential closure is “horrifying and ridiculous”.
Nicholas Reed, who has organised the group since 2012, thinks that the loss of Manston could cause problems with major London airports already operating near full capacity.
Mr Reed said: “The news that Manston Airport may close is both horrifying and ridiculous.
“Horrifying, because of the loss of hundreds of jobs in East Kent. Ridiculous, because of the lost potential of the Airport.”
“Everyone agrees that there is a desperate lack of further airport facilities close to London, with the London airports working at their maximum capacity.
“Yet, just over an hour from London, is the massively-underused Manston Airport, which can take the largest planes that exist, and indeed was the designated emergency landing-strip for the Space Shuttle, because of its outstanding facilities.”
Mr Reed also criticised the appointment of Alastair Welch, a former managing director at Southend Airport who was brought in by owner Ann Gloag as a “turnaround specialist” to revive Manston.
“Mr Welch was the highly successful chief executive of Southend Airport. He was brought in to manage Manston, and decides that it is not viable.” Mr Reed said.
“In effect, this removes a major competing airport from Southend. Was Mr Welch the best person to reach an impartial decision?
“Why the 45-day period for consultation? That means that all the staff, including the chief executive Charles Buchanan, are forbidden from commenting publicly on the decision: even if they would like to argue against it.
“Then, when that period of over, the owners can simply announce they are going ahead and closing it. Frankly the whole thing stinks.”
As of Friday, Dutch airline KLM, which runs a twice-daily service to Amsterdam from the airport, were not takings bookings for flights leaving Manston after April 8.
If Boris Johnson and Sir Norman Norman Foster had backed Manston instead of promoting their own grandiose plans to build an airport on the Isle of Grain or in The Thames Estuary
Either of which would cost billions of pounds devastate vast areas of countryside and destroy peoples homes and not be ready for many years
But if the Government were to give manstone its backing, we would have an airport at a fraction of the cost of the other two
Manston airport campaigner "horrified" by potential closure
THE CHAIRMAN of Why Not Manston? a campaign group promoting the use of Manston Airport, says a potential closure is “horrifying and ridiculous”.
Nicholas Reed, who has organised the group since 2012, thinks that the loss of Manston could cause problems with major London airports already operating near full capacity.
Mr Reed said: “The news that Manston Airport may close is both horrifying and ridiculous.
“Horrifying, because of the loss of hundreds of jobs in East Kent. Ridiculous, because of the lost potential of the Airport.”
“Everyone agrees that there is a desperate lack of further airport facilities close to London, with the London airports working at their maximum capacity.
“Yet, just over an hour from London, is the massively-underused Manston Airport, which can take the largest planes that exist, and indeed was the designated emergency landing-strip for the Space Shuttle, because of its outstanding facilities.”
Mr Reed also criticised the appointment of Alastair Welch, a former managing director at Southend Airport who was brought in by owner Ann Gloag as a “turnaround specialist” to revive Manston.
“Mr Welch was the highly successful chief executive of Southend Airport. He was brought in to manage Manston, and decides that it is not viable.” Mr Reed said.
“In effect, this removes a major competing airport from Southend. Was Mr Welch the best person to reach an impartial decision?
“Why the 45-day period for consultation? That means that all the staff, including the chief executive Charles Buchanan, are forbidden from commenting publicly on the decision: even if they would like to argue against it.
“Then, when that period of over, the owners can simply announce they are going ahead and closing it. Frankly the whole thing stinks.”
As of Friday, Dutch airline KLM, which runs a twice-daily service to Amsterdam from the airport, were not takings bookings for flights leaving Manston after April 8.
If Boris Johnson and Sir Norman Norman Foster had backed Manston instead of promoting their own grandiose plans to build an airport on the Isle of Grain or in The Thames Estuary
Either of which would cost billions of pounds devastate vast areas of countryside and destroy peoples homes and not be ready for many years
But if the Government were to give manstone its backing, we would have an airport at a fraction of the cost of the other two