Liberty Hall

Ruritanian-based airport operator Infidel has thrown caution to the wind and is sniffing around Thanet, looking for an airport to buy.

Instead of, ahem, doing any proper research to find out if Manston is financially viable, they've sent us a few questions about what they would be allowed to do. Read on...

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Is there anything I can’t do at this airport?

Well, regular scheduled night flights by the very noisiest freighters would get penalised, but...

That’s not a problem though, because we’re asking for a night flight policy that will allow us to do just that, and we’re confident we’ll get it.

We know that this kind of freight business creates virtually no jobs.

That’s great for us because it’s a low cost business for which we can charge a premium because no other airport is allowed to do what we’ll be allowed to do.

Don’t worry about it. We’ll have this sorted by the time you buy the airport.

Actually, we must get it sorted, otherwise you won't buy the airport, will you?

Green vs Greed

Ruritanian-based airport operator Infidel has thrown caution to the wind and is sniffing around Thanet, looking for an airport to buy.

Instead of, ahem, doing any proper research to find out if Manston is financially viable, they've sent us a few questions about what they would be allowed to do. Read on...

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Are there any activities which might be prevented at Manston on environmental grounds?

Are you kidding?

The Council is desperate for the airport to succeed and will agree to anything as long as you promise a few jobs.

The promise doesn't have to be based on any real analysis and there won't be any come-back if you fail to deliver on it.

The airport's built right on top of the local aquifer, and drains into the nearest SSSI, which gives you some idea of how seriously the local Council takes that kind of thing.

Trust me, no-one's had to do an Environmental Impact Assessment or get involved with tricky planning issues.

All you'll need is a splash of greenwash, and you'll be home and dry!

Sleep tight before the night flights bite

Ruritanian-based airport operator Infidel has thrown caution to the wind and is sniffing around Thanet, looking for an airport to buy.

Instead of, ahem, doing any proper research to find out if Manston is financially viable, they've sent us a few questions about what they would be allowed to do. Read on...

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Does it matter how many people I wake up each night by flying over them?

Of course not.

TDC has never commissioned any research into the effects of night-flights on residents. They couldn't give a damn.

The S106 is over a decade old and has none of the restrictions that other airports impose to protect their local residents.

The local Council should have reviewed and renegotiated the S106 agreement regularly, but haven't - they can't be bothered.

The Council has always made it clear that Thanet is "open for business", and the S106 agreement certainly allows the airport to do pretty much what it likes.

So you can wake up as many people as you like - it's nothing for you to lose sleep over!

Sleep-shattering noise? Grand. Fine.

Ruritanian-based airport operator Infidel has thrown caution to the wind and is sniffing around Thanet, looking for an airport to buy.

Instead of, ahem, doing any proper research to find out if Manston is financially viable, they've sent us a few questions about what they would be allowed to do. Read on...

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One of my airline clients has an Antonov, the noisiest freight aircraft in the world. Can I land this at Manston in the middle of the night?

No problem!

You're right, though - the Antonov is exceptionally noisy and is rated at QC4.

According to the S106, this means that landing it in the dead of night will attract a £1,000 fine.

Mind you, the fines haven't been increased in the last ten years, and £1,000 isn't what it used to be.

And when you bear in mind that a freight delivery is worth about £200,000 the fine isn't much of a problem, really.

I ask you - where else could you get away with this?

Fly over Ramsgate all you want. Whatever.

Ruritanian-based airport operator Infidel has thrown caution to the wind and is sniffing around Thanet, looking for an airport to buy.

Instead of, ahem, doing any proper research to find out if Manston is financially viable, they've sent us a few questions about what they would be allowed to do. Read on...

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I'm talking to an airline that wants to use its fleet of Boeing 737s to take off for Europe just after 6 o'clock in the morning every day. The S106 says I can do this. Can they save fuel by flying straight over the town of Ramsgate?

It's up to you, really.

The Section 106 sets out some targets suggesting that some departures should be made towards the west.

However, there are no penalties for failing to do so, and we all know that the direction of flight depends on the wind direction more than anything else.

In any event, for safety reasons, the captain of the aircraft has the final decision. Nobody can insist that you make the captain avoid Ramsgate.

Nobody's going to make you fly (or stop you flying) on any particular flight path. Flight paths aren't like roads, you know, and it's all unregulated airspace round here anyway.

It's Liberty Hall, and it's all yours if the price is right!

Manston swept away

Here's a handy way of illustrating how much flexibility Manston Airport has under the current S106 agreement with Thanet District Council. Let us suppose that someone, somewhere, is interested in buying Manston. Clearly, this is hypothetical.

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Ruritanian-based airport operator Infidel has thrown caution to the wind and is sniffing around Thanet, looking for an airport to buy.

Instead of, ahem, doing any proper research to find out if Manston is financially viable, they've sent us a few questions about what they would be allowed to do. Read on...

Can I allow a Jumbo jet to fly in at 03:00 on a Sunday morning?

Of course you can, as long as you didn't schedule it in advance. We've got an amazingly tolerant noise regime here at Manston. Even a 747-400 can be landed here at any time of night without paying a penny in fines to the community fund.