A reader writes

I should like to make a few points, of which Cllr Carter should be informed! Firstly, he says that Manston's runway is 2,752m. When I checked, it was 2,658m. Heathrow has two runways - 3,500m and 3,570m, with Gatwick's one at 3,750m. So nowhere near comparable.

He says that Manston "is able to cater for all modern jet aircraft"; that's all very well, but a fully-laden 747 or 767 could not safely take off because there is no room to abort a take off in case of problems. If you remember, an Afghan DC-8 almost came a cropper on 11th August 2010 when, as it was later discovered, it tried to take off 25,000 lbs overweight! (So where are our CAA checks? Who was responsible? How could this happen?) It only just blundered into the sky after gouging grooves in the grass at the end of the runway, just before it could have collided with the traffic on the bit of the B2190 between the Prospect and Manston Road roundabouts! Details of the AAIB investigation can be found here: www.skybrary.aero/bookshelf/books/1670.pdf. If it had been taking off over Ramsgate, it could have ploughed into the traffic on the Haine Road. So, safe, is it?

I don't want night flights, but I'm not against the airport succeeding. But why don't people look at past history? (Sorry - no one ever does!) No one has succeeded with pie-in-the-sky, fantasy ideas. It is a small airfield, not a major airport! It could succeed as a part cargo/part holiday destination airfield. Small aircraft, such as the Fokkers that had European destinations, could attract most of our limited catchment area. I note you say that people living within reach of Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, Stansted, will obviously go there because of the choice of destinations. Agreed. We need someone to take over Manston who can see it for what it is and accept its limited capabilities. But now, I suppose, I'm looking at pie in the sky!

S.B.

Location, Location, Location

It's refreshing to see an independent review of Manston's present and future prospects that doesn't shy away from stating the obvious - a successful passenger airport needs plenty of passengers within a convenient distance, and a successful freight airport needs plenty of customers within a profitable distance.

The Parsons Brinckerhoff (PB) report says Manston airport is in the wrong place:

[p5] Given the geographic location of Manston it is unlikely that carriers would show much interest for inbound traffic from key European city links – we would argue this would only be relevant if Manston was strategically placed near to a large city or a region with a large catchment area.

Heathrow has queues of carriers wanting to use the airport, so they can afford to pick and choose who they let in. Over the short to medium term, Heathrow airport will carry less freight and more passenger traffic, as passengers are more profitable. This will displace freight traffic to other UK airports.

The PB report says York Aviation is wrong when it says that Manston is "ideally geographically located" to benefit from this displaced freight traffic.

[p5] Stansted, and Gatwick to a lesser degree, have significant capacity to accept additional freight volumes and are strategically better located close to motorways and major conurbations.  For this reason we would disagree with York’s contention that “It is for the relocation of these services that MIA is ideally geographically located”.  MIA, whilst only 50 minutes from the M25 at Junction 2, is not strategically positioned for freight to be dispatched anywhere other than the far South East of England.

On p15 of their report, York Aviation claim that a night time ban prevents Manston from accepting freight traffic from much of the rest of the world (based on an arbitrary departure time of 2300).

The PB report says Manston is only excluded from 9% of the scheduled air freight market...

[p6] … we do not believe that this provides a compelling argument for significant economic benefit to the region as a result of the introduction of a night flying quota system.

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Next installment: Jobs

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Manston: "Airports could go out of business"

Some regional airports could go out of business if the Government fails to recognise their important role in easing the nation’s capacity crisis. That's the warning from Manston Airport chief executive Charles Buchanan.

He argues that direct and immediate action is needed to resolve the short and long-term airport capacity shortages at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted where new runways have been ruled out indefinitely. In Manston's submission to a consultation on aviation policy, he urges the Government to look to existing regional airports to buy time for longer term plans to be explored.

"Realistically no new runway will be built in the South East for at least 10 years, probably 15 years, but regional airports can deliver capacity now. The downturn in the economy has seen a number of the smaller regional airports, including some in the South East, operate at a significant financial loss, with the real possibility that it will only be a matter of time before the industry starts to see the closure of some of these currently loss-making airports. Once closed, they will probably be lost forever and not replaced."

Mr Buchanan also wants to see different rates of Air Passenger Duty (APD) applying at congested airports to persuade airlines to operate out of smaller ones like Manston.

Meanwhile, the British Chambers of Commerce has called on the Government to develop an aviation policy that supports business growth and job creation. It also wants ministers to scrap proposed APD increases. Jo James, chief executive of Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce, said:

"In Kent we have a particular interest in aviation policy owing to the controversial question of the expansion of airport facilities within the county. If companies are to make the most of the opportunities offered by international trade, it is essential that a cohesive aviation policy is developed, and definitive decisions reached on future developments."

KentOnline 2nd Nov 2011

Location, location, location matters for airports too

Manston isn't Outer London. It's out of London.

Well, there are several airports that have leapt on the global branding bandwagon and smuggled the word 'London' into their name, with varying degrees of geographical accuracy.

(A special mention must go to "London Ashford Airport": 60 miles from London, 13 miles from Ashford, 1 mile from Lydd. It seems the greater the distance, the more prominent the billing - it's full title is actually "Jupiter Brazil London Ashford Airport".)

So, JBLA to one side, what are we left with? Well, starting from where London actually is, you can see that London City is pretty much a slam-dunk - 9/10 for accuracy. Spiralling out clockwise from the south, we have Gatwick, Heathrow, Luton, Stansted, Southend and Manston. Yes, folks, Manston's even further from London-land than the fantasists at Lydd.

'Location, location, location' does matter and this seems to be a persistent blind spot for many when it comes to discussing Manston's viability. It may have a lovely long runway, but it's in the wrong place.

Draw a circle with a 20, 30 or 50 mile radius around all the 'London' airports, and Manston's circle will have the least land in it - because it's on a peninsula. In terms of population within the catchment area, it may just nudge ahead of Lydd, but will always be well behind the others. It's not a great place for a high volume passenger airport. Not that great for freight either, being so far from the highest densities of people and industry.

On with your thinking cap, dear reader, for soon I will be asking for your best efforts on two topics: how would you make a sustainable success out of Manston as an airport; and how would you make a sustainable success out of the Manston site as a non-airport.

Manston could help ease strain of games

Clipping: thisiskent

Bosses at Manston airport have revealed they are in talks with Olympic officials such as organising committee chairman Seb Coe to give the airport a role in the 2012 London games. Chief executive Matt Clarke believes the airport’s location and facilities will mean it can be used to fly in athletes, fans and equipment to the London gamese the inevitable strain placed on Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and London City airports in 2012. He said:

"The Olympic Games is the biggest sporting spectacle in the world and competing athletes, their coaches, equipment and spectators in large numbers will be flown in from around the world during a relatively short period of time. Given that the London airports are frequently congested under normal circumstances – let alone when the biggest sporting event in the world comes to town – it is quite clear that Kent International Airport will have a role to play."

The airport chief predicts their will be a build-up in charter flights over the isle before the games but also expects private jets to be shooting across the isle. He continued:

"We expect to see is an influx of private jets, inbound chartered passenger flights and freight services immediately before and during the Olympics. We do not expect to see an increase in jobs relating specifically to the Olympics business as we will already have the resources required to accommodate the brief step-up in activity. The biggest constraint for an airport close to an event of this scale is more likely to be aircraft parking space as there is sure to be a vast number of aircraft from all over the world to descending on the south east in a short space of time. We have had discussions with a number of people involved in the planning of the event and they are aware that we have significant capacity to accommodate air traffic during what will be an extremely busy period."

London Mayor Boris Johnson is also setting his sites on Manston. Writing his column in the Daily Telegraph he said:

"South-eastern councils and the London authorities have decided to look again at all the options around London that could save us from the mistake of expanding Heathrow. They include making better use of existing assets, not least Manston, which has the longest runway in the country."