Abandoned UK airport could reopen and offer cheap Ryanair and easyJet flights to Europe
An abandoned airport, shut for the past decade, is poised to make a return, offering budget flights to some of Europe's top destinations. Manston Airport in Kent, a former Royal Air Force base renowned for its pivotal role in both World Wars, is currently undergoing substantial refurbishment with an anticipated reopening in 2028.
Initially, the rejuvenated airport will focus on cargo operations, but plans are afoot to introduce passenger services eventually.
Tony Freudmann, a main board director at RiverOak Strategic Partners, the firm overseeing the airport, conveyed his optimism about the reintroduction of passenger services to the BBC, stating they have plans to attract short-haul carriers to popular European destinations. Join the North Wales Live WhatsApp community group where you can get the latest stories delivered straight to your phone
The refurbishment of Manston is estimated to cost a whopping £500 million, encompassing new terminals and upgraded runways. The airport features a single runway that measures 2,748 meters (9,016 feet) in length and is notably wide at 60 metres, designed to accommodate emergency landings for Concorde and the Space Shuttle, reports The Mirror.
If the cargo side of the operation proves to be successful, passenger routes to countries such as the Netherlands, Spain, Cyprus and Malta could be introduced. It was reported three years ago that the airport's owners were in discussions with budget airlines including Ryanair, easyJet and Wizz Air.
At the time, Mr Freudmann told KentOnline: "Looking at the way the passenger market is going, we are confident we can persuade one or more low-cost carriers to base their planes here.
"It does not work for us if they fly in just once a day because that is not economic. If they base three or four planes at Manston, we will have rotations three or four times a day, as they have at Southend.
"That will cover our costs and bring passenger footfall through the terminal all day and every day. We will reinstate the twice daily KLM service to Amsterdam Schiphol that we had before and that will give business people in particular access to almost anywhere in the world."
Despite there being no further updates on this endeavour since then, with RiverOak not responding to The Mirror's request for an update this month, the bustle at nearby hubs like Luton and Stansted could indicate ample demand for more passenger flights in the area.
Reflecting on the steps required to launch services, a message from earlier in the year on the RiverOak website said: "Opening an airport – even one like Manston which already has in place a full-length runway, taxiways and airport buildings – takes a huge amount of preparation and planning first and so it will be many months before we are ready to welcome construction teams on site."
Survey work is set to commence this year and the next at the airport site, with ambitions to finalise "the airport master plan – a process which we expect to conclude in early 2026". A public consultation on potential flight paths will also be initiated during this period.
"In early 2028, we expect construction works to be complete and recruitment for operational roles to begin to allow us to assemble the team and begin detailed preparations for reopening later on in 2028," the statement continued.
However, the plans to refurbish the airport have faced some significant opposition, with groups like Don't Save Manston Airport highlighting the site's previous commercial failures and raising concerns about environmental impacts from increased aviation capacity.
RiverOak, which acquired the site for £14million has indicated intentions to initiate operations with five cargo flights daily.
Despite recommendations for refusal by planners, the redevelopment of Manston Airport was approved in 2023. The Planning Inspectorate expressed reservations about the airport's ability to offer services that are "additional to, or different from" those at other airports, its potential detrimental effects on the environment, and the likelihood of increased traffic on local roads.
Since its closure in 2015 following years of financial difficulties, Manston Airport has been repurposed as a lorry park to ease temporary cross-Channel traffic congestion. The final flight to leave Manston was bound for Amsterdam on 9 April 2014.
Formerly Kent's sole large airport, the region is home to smaller aviation facilities including Rochester Airport and Lydd Airport.
The developers of the new scheme have claimed that up to 650 construction jobs and an additional 2,000 permanent jobs will be created when the project is finished, per their website.
They said: "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."
Although the development bypassed local planning bodies due to being classified as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project, it faced legal hurdles.
After the Secretary of State for Transport gave the green light in 2020 for Manston to reopen as a freight hub, the approval was initially quashed, leading to resubmission and subsequent reapproval, according to the Kent Messenger.
In World War II, Manston airfield nearly met with destruction from heavy bombing and played host to numerous undetonated explosives.
Positioned near the battlefront, the site was used as an emergency landing strip for badly damaged planes.
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