Stop Manston Expansion Group

The airport stays silent.........

2011-08-18T09:00:00.002+01:00

......well it makes a pleasant change from having dangerous ageing freight crates overhead in the dead of the night!

But I'm not talking about the planes. Its Charles "psst. do you want to buy an airport" Buchanan and his infamous night time flying request.

If you remember all the way back to September last year when Charles/Manston/Infratil submitted a joke of a night time flying application which effectively asked for limitless flights throughout the night from London's 8th Airport, Manston. This was rightly rebuked by our council leaders with the following retort from TDC's illustrious leader Bob Bayford;

“I have met with Charles Buchanan to advise him that, after careful consideration over the last couple of weeks, the proposals that have been submitted have insufficient detail in some areas to be acceptable to the council. We’ve had an initial report through from our consultants, which has confirmed that there are areas of clarification that require further work before local residents are consulted. I believe that, before residents have their say, they need to know more detail and have a full understanding of exactly how many aircraft movements are being discussed. That information is difficult to gauge from the proposals that have been put to us, partly because of its technical nature and this needs further work. I also believe that the proposed upper level of activity is too high and needs to be reconsidered. I am not prepared to start a public consultation until these issues have been resolved. I am pleased to say that the airport has agreed to review these issues.”

Has there been a peep on this request from Manston in the last 10 months? No.

Have there been discussions between the council and Manston owners behind closed doors? what do you think?

Is PR 'King' Charlie going to jump in with some doom and gloom news about the airport scenario to dampen the joy of Discovery Park being named and Enterprise Zone? You betcha!

Having failed to attract the status with Manston attached, Discovery shed the albatross that is Manston and won the bid. Manston failed to attract regional growth funds to pay for staff, a new train station and an flight service to __________. So now it turns its attention to scaring the area into submission.

Rather than submit a new request as asked by Bob, Charlie has decided to tell us how bad things will be if we don't allow night flights.

I think this goes to show how little the airport management and its owners think of the people most effected by their night time flying requests. Rather than come up with a response to the councils request, they have decided to use scare tactics.

Later today, you will see Manston do its best to put the frighteners on us.

Don't be fooled.

Independent Consultant doesn't predict 3,000 jobs at Manston

2011-05-27T09:23:00.008+01:00

Here we go again!

After a few months off, Charles Buchannan's Manston/Infratil/Maxim PR machine kicks into life! A cynic would say he was told to go away and wait until after the election before stirring up the hornets nest that is Night flights once more! .

So whats his latest offering? World peace? Cure for incurable diseases? Nope - 3,000 jobs created in 6.5 years if he is allowed night flights.

How do independent consultants York Aviation come up with such a figure? Well, they don't. This number is from Infratil's own Masterplan (2009 Remix. If you believed the 2008 version, we would be seeing 1,000,000 passengers this year).

Where does Infratil get the 3,000 figure from? A few decades ago, some independent consultants said that for each 1,000,000 passengers at an airport, 1,000 jobs are created - at the airport, around the airport, in the supply chain. The airport industry still uses this independent consultants figure today, even though most people who fly short haul use what is called "budget carriers" - not invented in, but successful in the last 20 years or so. These operators work on slim budgets and lean processes, ie, not a lot of people. So that number should have somewhat reduced over the past couple of decades or so.........

The air industry being as they are wheel this independent consultant number out as they see fit. Charlie at Manston has even busted this figure by claiming 3,105 when if he had used his calculator correctly should be quoting 2,286 jobs. (The Gazette has managed to bump this up to 3,500! Who says school standards are slipping!)

However, Chuck is not alone in using the jobs creation calculator to his own means. Here are some examples from across the UK, brilliantly summarised in this independent review of jobs promises verses jobs reality;

http://www.aef.org.uk/downloads//Airport_jobs_false_hopes_cruel_hoax_March2009_AEF.pdf

50,000 jobs promised for a new runway at Manchester. The reality was 6,400.

Luton's jobs growth over a decade was 100 jobs per million passengers, not 1,000

15,000,000 extra passengers for zero additional jobs created in Gatwicks Masterplan

Read through to get a national flavour of the smoke and mirrors created by Airport Operators independent consultants to woo the local councils into allowing more planning and less restrictions as they think of the millions of jobs Airports will create in their fantasy land.

Something a bit more relevant and closer to home is Manstons (ugly) sister airport, Prestwick. Check out this story in the scottish press from earlier in the month;

http://www.heraldscotland.com/mobile/business/analysis/coming-to-the-end-of-the-runway-1.1100179

Some highlights;

According to Louise Congdon, managing partner at leading consultancy York Aviation, Prestwick’s troubles are typical. “With the possible exception of Heathrow, all airports are suffering high amounts of pain,” she says. “The ones that are hurting most are the ones that were growing the most. The traditional rule of thumb is that airports could make money at one million passengers per annum. But the budget operators’ model has pushed that up to the two million mark. Foreign operators that came into the market in the past 10 years didn’t always see that coming."

You may recognise the independent consultant making these gloomy comments about airport profitability and outlook - York Aviation! And who is that final sentence pointed at?!?!

Feel free to make your own mind up on what you think this will mean for Manston's prospects up to 2018, but when Infratil have been here for nearly 6 years and had 30,000 passengers last year, are they really likely to conjour up another 2,500,000 over the next 6?

If this is Manstons best argument for allowing night flights, I think they've got some work to do with some independent consultants!

(Please note this posting has been created with the assistance of an Independent Consultant)

NOT Gale's View 20th October 2010

2010-10-20T19:15:00.009+01:00

East Kent will, very shortly, have the opportunity to indicate clearly whether we want the airport at Manston, and the jobs and transport links that are not wholly dependent upon it, to have the opportunity to grow and prosper or to close.

We need, I think, to be very clear that the consultation relating to night time aircraft movements, due to be "independently" carried out for Thanet District Council in response to an application by the airport operators, Infratil, will affect the whole future of aviation at Manston and, East Kent Residents who live in fear of never having a full nights sleep ever again.

Ask local people if they want to be able to fly to sunshine holiday destinations direct from Manston and the answer is an emphatic “maybe”. Ask the same people if they want to see more freight flights from the same airport and the response is, not surprisingly, no. We subscribe to development that benefits us personally and we are lukewarm about development, whether it be business, retail or even housing, that impacts adversely upon our lives, and rightly so. If someone offered you a million pounds or a punch in the face, which one would you choose?

The harsh economic fact is that for the foreseeable future Manston cannot survive without ruining the lives of the people who live underneath its flightpaths. Long-haul passenger flights into Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted carry considerable amounts of belly cargo and other regional airports, such as Ostend, are able to offer highly advantageous terms, conditions, costs and restricted hours of movement. Add this new "flexibility" to Manston, and the unessential ageing freight crates that these airports shun will keep our children awake at night and bring minimal economic benefit to those closest to the airport. Without those services the airfield will close.

It is, of course, guaranteed that the present operators have proven to be less successful than predecessors dating back to the original civilian proprietors, Seabourne Aviation. Current passenger trends using Flybe services to Edinburgh and Manchester are modestly encouraging at best, and the prospect of some Sunshine Destination tour operators is, as always, on the cards, as have been space shuttle flights, Virgin Galactic Space flights, British Airways World Cargo flights, Ryanair, Easyjet, and pigs. The possibility of bringing aircraft carrying the overseas 2012 Olympic and Paralympic teams directly into Kent is enticing also, except it won't happen as the other more professionally run airports such as Stansted have been working on their plans for years – Infratil have missed the boat on this one. These are too few swallows, though, to make a summer and it is clear that we need to restrain freight operators at night even if they are vital to Manston`s survival.

We also have to recognise that without Manston not only will the airfield`s inflated job creating potential disappear but so too will any serious justification for a parkway station or the extension of the fast rail link from Ashford through to Thanet. Network Rail and Central Government will surely prioritise hundreds of millions on a rail line to a barely used airfield on a railway line that has just benefited from a 55 minute decrease in journey times over and above building High Speed 2 (scheduled 2020) to England's second city, Birmingham. That prospect may please those whose self-interest reflects only a direct link from his house to Parliament in 45 minutes, but it would not bode well for future generations seeking to work and raise families in East Kent and use the current rail services from one of the 7 existing stations in Thanet (to which they walk) and would now have to drive to a station and pay to park in a car park built on farmers fields.

I have consistently opposed a free-for-all night flying policy that has been espoused, in the past, by some of Thanet`s councillors of both major political persuasions. I do, however, believe that the proposals now on the table represent a fairly considerable underestimate of the airports's likely maximum night time flexibility through to 2018 and very possibly beyond. To represent the maximum unit quota provided for in the application as “Seven night flights per night” is taken from the Bickerdike Allen Partners report, therefore calling them mischievous and downright dishonest would be doing them a disservice. Even local journalists living on the flight path need to recognise that the purpose of the unit quota is to limit and regulate night time noise, whilst allowing up to seven flights per night would wake them from their drunken stupor. If, though, we deny the operators the operational flexibility needed to accommodate not only scheduled aircraft movements but also the unforeseen late take-offs from overseas destinations that, inevitably, affect arrival times then we shall allow East Kent's residents to have a full nights sleep, their children to stay asleep and East Kent to prosper and attract more commuters, like our neighbours in West Kent.

Thanet Council has indicated very clearly that it will take all decisions before the outcome of the consultation is known. That is a correct and proper position. It is also entirely right that those of us with elected responsibility should do everything possible to both recognise the legitimate needs of a poor downtrodden politician and his assistant wife while at the same time seeking to get re-elected on false pretences without any concern for the environmental impact upon residents and the countryside that may arise from those needs.

If, however, a relatively few tens of thousands of East Kent`s residents are left with an open goal into which they may then kick “anti-airport” shots then we shall be doing the future of East Kent many favours. Those that want Manston (and, of course, the non-existent RAF presence as well) to flourish as a local airport for passengers which operates during daytime hours and early evening to allow residents and businesses surrounding it to flourish have a clear duty to indicate what alternative future (Airport?) they see for the land, what vision they have for the future of local transport infrastructure ( a high speed rail link, opened in 2009 has not been fully explored or promoted by local MP’s yet as it does not stop at Westminster) and how they intend to manage the great sleep opportunities that East Kent`s children and grandchildren will be hopefully getting. Political power without social responsibility is no more of an acceptable or honest position that would be the free-for-all night aircraft movement policy that Infratil is in fact proposing, or an out-of-touch MP whose whines can still be heard from when he was told to sack his wife.

Joke of the day

2010-10-20T18:23:00.003+01:00

What smells, has 8 legs, and can turn 180 degrees on a sixpence?

£100 REWARD

2010-10-18T17:17:00.002+01:00

No questions asked. Cash (used, unmarked, non-sequential) for a copy of the "missing" Thanet Local Board video recording. Contact.

Separated at Birth?

2010-09-30T10:52:00.002+01:00

Charles Buchanan, Airport Operator

James Harries, Child Antique Prodigy

Does Manston want up to 4 jumbo jets a night?

2010-03-19T09:23:00.017Z

Six months after sticking a night time flying request into TDC without saying how many night flights they want, new Manston El Presidente Tom Wilson starts where Matt Clarke leaves off by ignoring the people most effected and their representatives and still not providing detail on the night flights blight hanging over Ramsgate.

A number in the Gazette today suggests 6,000 quota points (a jumbo has a score of 4) could mean around four 747 flights in or out a night should Tom, Infratil and Manston get their way.

Attached to an interview with Tom in the The Gazette, the paper uses Doncaster Robin Hood (?!) airport as a comparison, talking about passengers it wishes to attract and how many night flights it is allowed to have as numbers Manston could potentially have.

All a load of tosh, as there is a marked difference between Doncaster Airport and Manston. If you look at the Google Maps picture above, you can instantly see why.

3 miles from either end of the airport, all you have is fields. 0.8 miles to 2.8 miles from the eastern end of Manston, you have Ramsgate. When comparing Doncaster to Manston and saying night flights there should be allowed here, you are comparing disturbing the sleep of grass against disturbing the sleep of 40,000 Ramsgate residents (Acol, Herne Bay, Cliffs End, St Nicholas as well).

So these people know this? Of course they do, they are just choosing to ignore it, and hoping that Thanet residents and beyond don't pick up on it.

Two other airports are suggested as comparable - Luton and East Midlands. Now what do they look like on google maps......

Goodbye Matt Clarke

2010-03-18T19:54:00.004Z

Matt Clarke, the ever-young Chief Exec of Manston Airport, departs our fair isle this weekend.

Alas, his efforts over the past few years have fallen short of him being able to take a plane from our local airport (unless his paints himself yellow, puts a Fyfes sticker on his backside and loads himself onto an ageing freighter).

As a tribute to Matt, we thought we'd list his achievements at Manston.

Bye Matt! You will be missed.

Stop the Loonies links to other sites

2010-03-17T08:46:00.000Z

On the Stop the Loonies website there are a few links to other websites under the banner "Sites worth a visit", namely;

The obligatory Kent International Airport itself

http://manstonairport.org.uk/, which is an unofficial airport love-in, owned by a Denis Holton

Kent Air Ambulance - Owned by the Air Ambulance team

Kent Forklift Training - Owned by the company itself

Kent Safety Training - A company whose lead trainer is Carl Davies

KIA Fire - Website owned by Carl Davies

I'm not sure why these companies/people would want to be linked to a yellow cartoon character asking you to "kiss his arse", but they should be careful who they associate themselves with.

If I were any of them, I'd ask the owner of Stop the Loonies to remove the link, assuming of course they know who it is.

Paul Carter - how to transform the Isle's fortunes

2009-12-27T14:49:00.005Z

I see from the Gazette that Paul Carter is talking up the Parkway train station for the 4,000 passengers that use Manston each year.

Has anyone told him that Flybe, the much trumpeted return of part-time scheduled flights to Manston, have bailed after one poor summer?

Unless of course he expects the bananas, mangoes and fake fags that currently come through the airport to start catching the train.

I am sure that the current users of trains from the Thanet Towns will be impressed with his suggestion of a parkway station which will mean a reduced service to Ramsgate, Broadstairs and Margate from its current level - and thats normal trains as well as the 'high speed'. Plus it means more people will be forced into cars to drive the the new parkway station instead of walking to your local one. Brilliant idea.

Oh, all those living in Canterbury - Paul also suggests that trains from London don't need to stop there so the 20-odd flights worth of passengers can we whisked through in record time.

Is Paul Carter really that stupid? Does he not realise the cost of a ticket to Thanet from London against a ticket to Stansted/Luton/Gatwick? Does he understand the constraints of a single track line and the inability of trains to 'overtake' each other on it? Is he aware that the speed restrictions are down to the "third rail" system we operate south of the river, and the "Thanet in an hour" trains he talks about are impossible to achieve?

Hopefully, someone bought him Monopoly for Christmas which will stop him from wasting OUR paid for resources on this private enterprise (and betting on failing Icelandic banks).

Christmas Cheer......Infratil style

2009-12-26T10:44:00.003Z

2040 on Christmas Eve a window rattler went past. A neighbour had to explain to their children Santa was making a low pass.

0840 on Boxing Day. Followed by two other landing over Ramsgate, followed by a further plane taking off over Ramsgate a few minutes ago.

No holiday is sacred to an airport. Support this airport to the levels of freight and passengers they want and you'll not only get disturbed on the periphery of holidays, but all the way through them as well.

PS - Only an Infratil owned airport in the UK has an ice/cold weather related accident over the past week when all have been shut, disrupted because of the cold snap. Why?

For Sale

2009-12-09T21:47:00.004Z

One sign, less than a year old, move forces reluctant sale, will suit expanding airport.

Offers 08707 605 755

A brief return

2009-12-02T14:08:00.001Z

I have been provided the name of 'Stop the Loonies', the self confessed airport supporter who hates the people of Ramsgate.

For someone in such a position, I am surprised at the amount of vitriol pointed at the people of Ramsgate over the past year. To quote Stop the Loonies from posts on this blog and others;

9th July 2009 "wotcha smeggers - found out?
nah don't think so, keep trying though it's highly amusing."

Yes, it is amusing now we know your identity.

8th July 2009 "Me hit women? NO NEVER !
Well........ maybe a little slap now and again if the housework isn't up to scratch."

Mmmm.

25th March 2009 "Nobody seems bothered by the belching black smoke from the Fire School across the road from the Airport that has been blowing across Ramsgate for the last few days, or the thousands of gallons of fuel pumped out on the Fire Simulators for their recruits to put out.
Seems like you got your priorities arse about face.
Your quite happy to breath all the unburnt aviation fuel from a Fire School."

Something the Fire School would not be too happy about I'm sure. Nor...

16th March 2009 "Ramsgate: High Crime Area !
Don't take my word for it, YOUR Council lists 2 area's of Ramsgate as High rime Area's.
http://www.thanet.gov.uk/community__living/crime_prevention/community_safety/high_crime_areas.aspx
""A place where everyone wants to live""
I don't think so...."

...would KCC or TDC, or any businesses in Ramsgate looking to entice people in.

Anyway, I'm at a loss on whether anyone would actually be interested in knowing who it is having seen the literally few visitors his poor website gets.

We'll see what happens.

Turning off public viewing capability

2009-09-28T13:15:00.003+01:00

Only members will be allowed on from later today.

Those pro-airport supporters (such as Stop the Loonies) who continue to view this blog at least twice per day even though its been closed for nearly a fortnight, will have to find something else to do.

Flybe announces early summer schedule for 2010

2009-09-16T22:28:00.003+01:00

Flybe have announced their early Summer (to June) schedule for 2010 today. From their website;

"FLYBE ANNOUNCES EVEN MORE ROUTES FOR EARLY SUMMER 2010"

"Flybe, Europe’s largest regional airline and the UK’s number one domestic carrier, has announced the final list of its new early 2010 summer schedule with millions of seats now on sale to popular destinations across the UK and regional Europe."

Ok, so where are the new Kent International flights that have been rumoured to be coming next year?

• Glasgow to: Paris Charles De Gaulle, Manchester and Southampton
• Inverness to: Manchester
• Isle of Man to: Liverpool, Manchester and Southampton
• Leeds Bradford to: Southampton

Nothing under K. Maybe they are under its Flybe preferred name of Manston.

• Liverpool to: Isle of Man
• Manchester to: Brussels, Paris Charles De Gaulle, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hannover, Milan Malpensa, Norwich and Southampton
• Newcastle to: Southampton

Mmmm. Even more strange, if you want to book Jersey for, say, May of next year, you can - from Gatwick. It seems you can book pretty much everything you want at every other airport up to June of 2010. Nothing showing up for Manston for 2010 though. Nor Kent International. Nor London Kent Hub Chas'n'Dave International. Nothing.

Whats going on?

Start Manston Expansion - supported by who?

2009-09-13T19:22:00.010+01:00

SMEG's crack IT team have managed to "hack" into Stop the Loonies - Start Manston Expansion sitemeter tracker page, which gives all the gory details of visitors, where they came from and how long they stayed.

For busy blogs with lots of visitors, such as this one and ECR, we get literally hundreds of hits per day. Sadly, in the lonely world of Manston Airport supporting, only a handful of unique visitors ever turn up for a peek. 14 in total today. And they're not there long!

The owner is seen clear as day posting from the domain name "AS9105.com", which is the same domain which posts as Stop the Loonies, and various, spiteful anonymous comments through the day and evening.

Apart from that, its all very, very dull. With such little traffic, there really isn't much to see or information to glean.

For those interested, the IT boffins have promised to tell me how they got in at some point tomorrow.

Can't wait.

Gazette letters special

2009-09-11T09:21:00.002+01:00

More mis-information from the one pro airport letter from five published in the "Manston Letters Special" section on page 13.

Mrs D Wilson - "For goodness sake, it 's only half an hour earlier and half an hour later. What is wrong with these folks. Do they not want to see Thanet propser?".

For a start Mrs Wilson, you have your facts wrong. The airport want to be able to schedule aircraft for 24hrs a day. If the agreement is passed, 747's can take off and land at 3am if they so wish. The proposal talks about re-classifying daytime operations by an hour in the morning and 30 mins at night, but the overall request is to creat a night time flying policy. I suggest you read the request prior to writing your letter nest time.

Yes we do want prosperity in Thanet Mrs Wilson, and we think night flights will bring the exact opposite for Thanet. As pointed out in the next letter, "...why...move...to a town where you are guaranteed to havean interrupted nights sleep?"

Finally, Mrs Wilson, I'm glad that you save a couple of hours every year on your trip to Jersey but not having to get to Gatwick. I am however more interested for the thousands of Ramsgate residents who will be subjected to through the night flights every night of the year without respite. Still, if it saves you time, it must be worth it.

Ramsgate Town Council Meeting 7th Sep

2009-09-07T20:39:00.007+01:00

A rather interesting but unsurprising meeting tonight from Ramsgate Town Council.

Item 8 on the agenda was the night time flying proposal from Infratil. Cllr Richard Nicholson, Ramsgates representitve on the Thanet District Council Airport Working Party, gave an update on the proposal and what it means for Ramsgate.

It seems many of the council had not quite understood what the request was for. Astonishing to think that these people supposedly represent us, but outside Cllr's Nicholson, O'Donnell and Mayor Green none seemed to have grasped it, and two even admitted it.

How a request asking for night time flying over the rooftops of Ramsgate can it seems be not read, or even worse, understood by our representitives is beyond me.

Anyway, it seems they will attempt to rectify this by holding some sessions with Thanet Council and Infratil to understand what is being requested. What is wrong with them actually reading and understanding a very simple document?

Good news is the general consensus once 365 24/7 flights were explained was one of horror. It seems no-one would be supportive of such a thing. Just in case though, please contact your local councillor to ask them if they know what the request is for and how they feel about it.

Oh, remember the request asks for a night quota without stating what that quota is? Infratil and Thanet District council have come up with the number 7,000 points . In real terms this means that there could be 5 jumbo jet flights every night between 2330 and 0600 for 365 days of the year, and this would all be perfectly legit. No fines. Carry on Infratil without fear of breaking rules.

Night Night!

Night Time Flying request - information #2

2009-09-03T09:57:00.003+01:00

Another cut out and keep guide for councillors wishing to swot up on the night time flying request by Infratil. This sentance is from the TDC press release in regards to Night Time flying on Wed 19th Aug;

"...Infratil is looking to introduce a formal noise quota system. This is used by many UK Airports including...Bristol...."

Some information for you on how the noise quota system 'restricts' night flying at Bristol.

Night Flights
Bristol International Airport has operational hours of 7am to 11pm set by local planning requirements, but in fact its main operations start at 6am. A noise quota counts plane movements between 11:30pm and 6am.

In summer 2008 there were 2320 night flights over 209 days, an average of over 11 per night. Of these 1830 (79%) were arrivals and 491 were departures (21%). Note that this does not count helicopters, small aircraft, or some non-commercial flights. The worst night had 25 flights.

Over the past few years, night flights in the winter season have typically been around 900, making a total of around 3200 per year.
BIA has proposed a new cap on night movements of 4500 per year. This is 40% above the numbers seen in recent years. Most of the growth in night flights has been during the summer months, so it is likely that the 4500 flights would be split 1000 for the winter and 3500 for the summer, representing more than a 50% growth in summer night flights – just when sleep is more difficult and windows are open.

From the 2008 summer data, the times of night of such flights were:

BIA Summer 2008 night flights

There is no period of the night clear from flights, and the real departure schedule starts at 5am.

It has been argued that these flights are due to charter operators using cheap slots or due to unexpected delays, but in fact 31% were easyJet, 10% were Ryanair, and further flights are likely for the other scheduled carriers, and the same flights arrive at the same late time on a regular basis.

The busiest weeks had 100 night flights, or 14 per night. BIA's plans imply this growing to 150 flights in the worst weeks, or 21 per night, every night.

Arguments FOR Manston - #1. "....it was here before you, so move"

2009-09-03T08:49:00.003+01:00

As far as this writer is concerned, correct, it was here before me. There was not a detailed masterplan, which is what prompted me into action, but only a decade old, failing private airport (for the second time) and a glint in the councils eye that one day it could solve all Thanets ills. There was not a request for night flights.

As for Ramsgate v Manston Airport; which came first, the airport or the town? Well, one clear winner here. Ramsgate has been around since 1200, the airport turned up in 1915. Other affected towns, villages, hamlets, have earlier origins that WWI.

How about the use of the airport? Military, wooden planes to start with, progressing to military jets in the 50's, charter passenger jets in the same decade, up to the hundreds of tonnes 747's we have today. Its gone from UK Citizen protecting MOD ownership to NZ Pensioner contributing ownership and all these use change without any planning permission, change of use permissions given.

In regards to the people underneath the flightpath, how about those who had no choice and were born into the area? What of those whose circumstances mean they can't move away? What about those businesses that are tied to the area, so moving means closing? What about those people who moved in under the protection of a 106 agreement which banned scheduled night flights between 11pm and 7am?

Suggesting those who do not like the airport to move as it was here before them is asking them to give up. They can all see that freight operations bring no long term value to the area. Night flights will effect health, house prices and future prospect of investment. The people who I meet don't want that future for Ramsgate, Acol, St Nicholas, Herne Bay.

Night time flying request - information

2009-09-01T15:01:00.007+01:00

To help make things easy for those councillors trying to understand the niceties of Infratil's request for night flights, I attempt to provide an easy to read, cut out and keep guide to help you come to a decision next March.

The Request in General;

This is not only a request to lengthen operating hours by 1.5 hours. This is a request to allow through-the-night flying. they have asked for a night time quota, which will effectively allow them to schedule flights throughout the night. 1am, 2am, 3am, take your pick. The extension of operating hours looks like a smokescreen. Its caused confusion with senior local politicians, but just so everyone is clear - this request allows a 747 to take off or land at 3am. If you donlt beleive me, please ask Infratil.

Night quota, quota count;

All planes have a designated quota point assigned to it. Examples;
747-200 arrivals = 4 points, departures 8 points
747-400 arrivals = 2 points, departures 4 points
Corporate Jet = exempt, as they are so quiet!

747-200's, such as those used by MK Airlines, will therefore be allowed to land at 3am, but not take off until 6am under the new request. The differences between quota counts is imperceptible. For example, an allowed QC4 plane could make a noise of 98.9 decibels, where a QC8 which will be discouraged (but not banned) from 3am activity would make 99 decibels of noise. The noise is equivalent to a very loud motorbike passing by you on the street.

What the quota will be is anyones guess. It makes no mention of it in the request itself. How many planes do the owners want to fly at night? Will councillors be asked to vote on a night time flying regime that is undefined? I would ask the Director for Regeneration seeing as he has put the request forward to council without this important factor included.

The attached video was posted to us anonymously, received today. I thought I'd share it with you.

Isle Of Thanet Gazette - Comment

2009-08-28T22:36:00.012+01:00

A few points to make about todays gazette.

Firstly, a big cheer to Gazette reporter Saul Leese for understanding and clearly reporting the request from Infratil. They want through-the-night flights, and Saul has presented this in simple, easy-to-understand language. Airport operators take note.

Nice to see Cllr Richard Nicholson also understands and righfully disagrees with the request and the huge changes that Manston owners Infratil want to make. It seems Airport Working Party Chairman Mike Harrison now realises what the owners are actually proposing and is also disagreeing with it.

Now, onto the special letters page "Letters Extra - Manston Airport".

C.Callaghan. Talking about my good self, "......if he asked people who live near Gatwick or Stansted, he would find that with development house prices go up".

With inflation, prices of everything go up over time. Houses prices on flight paths go up over time. What they don't do is go up as quickly as house prices that are not on the flight path. Only this week, one of the team was on the phone to a local Ramsgate estate agent. I quote - "Night flights will not be good for house prices" was the feedback received in regards to Ramsgate future real estate potential. Try asking them yourselves, C. Callaghan. If thats not enough and you want to ask someone directly, I see Stop Stansted Expansion have provided an address. Feel free to quiz them about house prices in Stansted.

John Sherwell. It seems I am accused of writing in "...such an uniformed way" . Mmmm.

Anyway, to correct some other more pressing mistakes John has made.

"I am not sure about the weight of jumbo jets being as much as 400 tons."

Neither was I, that's why I found out before I typed it.

"Is he not aware that there were two civilian airlines operating alongside the military?"

I am well aware civil aircraft have been using Manston for decades. No argument with that. There should also be no argument with the simple fact I quoted that Manston has been a private airport for just over 10 years now. Private airplanes using a military airport. Private planes using a private airport. Ardent airport supporters should understand those subtle differences.

"Why does he think there would be "hundreds of flights per day"?"

Its not me saying there will be. I just go on what the councils (KCC and TDC) tell me, as well as what the airport owners Infratil say. 6,000,000 passengers pa. 500,000 tonnes of freight pa. Take busy holiday periods, weekends. Take a few moments to work it out as to how many flights you could get each day.

"There is not space for more than about five jumbos".
"There is no piped refuelling facility.."
"There is only one passenger Terminal."

All correct John, but if you were the "ardent Manston Airport Supporter" you profess to be I would have assumed you take the Draft Masterplan with you everywhere and have thumbed it from cover to cover umpteen times. All of these issues have been 'resolved' by the airport owners in the Masterplan, and anyone who had taken even a casual glance through it would know it.

John, you sum your selfish attitude up perfectly with your second to last paragraph;

"I think we are lucky enough to have the potential to fly without having to double our journey time...just to get to a distant airport."

If all Manston means to you is a few hours saved each year on your annual trip to Gatwick, tell that to the thousands of people who live under the flightpath and are facing through-the-night flights through your 'uniformed', uninformed support of Manston.

I hope people read the letter from Stop Stansted Expansion. It might give you some insight into their experiences. Its a warning worth heeding.

NO NIGHT FLIGHTS!

2009-08-27T08:44:00.005+01:00

A balanced view from yourthanet on the request for 747's through the night by Manston Airport, and an excellent front page splash of the main sands weekend grafitti.

I've been inundated with emails and phone calls this week over the proposed night flights. Its not only anti-airport people against the proposal - Ardent supporters of the airport are totally against night flying as well.

A copy of Steve Ladymans questionnaire has yet to arrive despite dozens of directs requests from different constituents asking for it. Nobody in his constituencey has come forward as having completed it. Feel free to email me the details if you are one of the few.

It seems the council Airport Working Party have not exactly covered themselved in glory by publicly stating that "scheduled night flights are not going to happen" when the proposal from Manston requests just that.

This could be a career defining moment for councillors, MP's and prospective MP's alike.

I would suggest letters to the press, councillors, MP are a good way to vent any frustrations. Alternatively, if you live under the flightpath and welcome being woken up at 3am, feel free to email me and I'll happily post your story here.

(ECR - yes I did steal your picture. A Nebuchadnezzar of Veuve is on its way round to ECR Towers)

Ladyman asks South Thanet residents about night flights.....allegedly

2009-08-24T20:34:00.006+01:00

MP for Ramsgate, Stephen Ladyman, informs me that he has undertaken the 'biggest such survey' in relation to the night flights request from Infratil.

Having asked dozens of people who live in Ramsgate if they have received such a survey, none have had one drop through their door - Nethercourt, Central Harbour Westcliff, Eastcliff, Pegwell - nobody has seen one.

I'm interested to know whats in it, what has been asked and what it tells us about Dr Ladymans understanding of the request from Infratil to allow scheduled 747's to take off and land at 3am.

Has he made this clear in his survey?

If anyone has a copy of the questionnaire, please copy it to the comments or send me an email.

If anyone would like to comment to Dr Ladyman and ask him his opinion on night flights, his email address is on the sidebar. He always responds.

Night Flights - More information

2009-08-20T12:36:00.007+01:00

Another fine example of what will be keeping you awake from march of next year. This will be "allowed" throughout the night should the airport operators get TDC to break out the big YES rubber-stamp. Had a quick conversation with Mike Harrison who pointed me to the correct place on TDC's labyrinth of a website to the actual request from Infratil for night flights.

You can find it here.

Mike also gave some general, and as yet unconfirmed information about the consultation process.

a) Its a 6 months consultation

b) It will involve statuatory consultation (surrounding councils, town councils, EA) and public consultation

c) Public consultation will be scheduled to take 12 weeks, but if written responses are not made in time, as long as they are within the 6 month period they will be accepted

d) There will be at least two public meetings, one in Margate, one in Ramsgate

There may be roadshows/stalls in other towns and villages in Thanet. Westwood Cross and Broadstairs for example

Conversation moved onto the request itself. Please read the document and draw your own conclusions, but this request has two detrimental effects on affected residents;

1) an increase in operational hours, where only 72% of currently available operational time in May (figures CAA taking one arrival every 4 minutes as the max) was used.

2) the creation of a noise quota to allow 747's to use the airport between 11:30pm and 6am.

Although both cause great concern, the second point is more worrying. Infratil have not advised what that quota will be, but it will be calculated on a 24 hour basis. This means that current daytime 747 operations could be switched to nighttime without any recourse.

The current 106 calls for a night time flying policy to be submitted before any flights are allowed, to scheduling night flights is effectively banished. This proposal, if agreed, will allow scheduled night flights for 747's to occur.

Speak to your councillors and ask them if they think this is acceptable.

Night Flights by Easter........

2009-08-20T06:25:00.009+01:00

Thanks to Mike Harrison for updating me on the consultation period. It is 6 months.

The only place information seems available on the request for night flights is on the "Stop the Loonies" blog. Seeing as the anonymous person who posts on here has been proven to operate from Manston Airport, one can only assume they are an Infratil employee. Amongst consistently derogatory comment on Ramsgate town, its people and our future, he does seem to have the inside track on whats going on. He would be failing in his daytime job if he didn't.

I shall attempt to provide you with some insight into what the night flying policy means in real terms;

A scheduling ban on noisy aircraft such that aircraft exceeding Quota Count 4 shall not be scheduled to operate between 11.30 pm and 6.00 am

That means planes up to an including Quota Count 4 (QC4) can operate at night. That's makes a noise up to 98.9 decibels - like a pneumatic drill working right beside you. The aircraft in the video is QC3. 1am, 2am, 3am, take your pick Mr fruit-flying rust bucket, and don't worry about the natives.

The application of preferred runway use subject to operating conditions..... such that night-time arrivals use RWY 10 and departures utilise RWY28 when practicable, avoiding overflying Ramsgate town.

The prevailing wind means landing over Ramsgate will happen 70% of the time. This is something the airport/council can say, which might be good for Ramsgate, but in reality will do very little to reduce noise in the town at night. Do not be fooled into thinking this is a 'win' for Ramsgate, and remember towns and villages such as Herne Bay, Acol, St Nick's will just gain the pain.

All other points also need to be debated, reviewed, explained, understood. Whether public consultations allow that to happen remains to be seen.

If the 12 week consultation has already started, 10th November is the date we are looking at.

10th November, and no meeting have been scheduled, we have no idea who is going to be consulted and what consultation process is. What will be done with the information? Will responses be formally collated? the BAWC fiasco, the full council meeting consisted of various councillors saying "well I spoke to this many people and they all said yes". That is not how our councillors should be operating.

I have already contacted Mike Harrison and asked for a meeting. He has duly called and I will post on the discussion at later today. I want to be able to share as much detail on the process as possible as soon as possible, something TDC seem incapable of.

Night Flights - Manston Airport seeks extension to operational hours

2009-08-19T13:29:00.003+01:00

Matt Clarke and TDC called a press conference today to advise that as of 17th August, a 6 month consultation period had started with the main aim to allow night flights at Manston.

More details as I get it, but what is known is the extension will result in flights from 6am to 11:30pm, and increase of 1.5 hours from current operations.

You may ask why an airport needs extended hours of operations when its not busy during the current 16 hours of operation. Manston owners Infratil say its because they want a "level playing field" with other airports in the region. Ramsgate residents might say they want a level playing field in regards to a right to peace and quiet with other Kent residents.

I look forward to TDC/Manstons idea of 'consultation'. For those who knew about/followed the Mastperplan 'consultations',you will remember that the big town of 35,000 inhabitants 1,000 feet under the flightpath were not given a public meeting. Will they have the decency to actually consult those affected this time? Will they actually listen to anything said on the consultation? Is this just a box ticking exercise and the inevitable TDC "YES" rubber stamp will be taken from the "Airport" file?

Update - Enemies of Ramsgate #1 - Kent County Council

2009-08-18T19:55:00.011+01:00

More reason for all residents of Kent to continue to ask question of our beloved County Council and the missing £50,000,000.

KCC released annual accounts recently which went into great detail on the current Icelandic situation, including some good news! KCC received back £3,000,000 from administrators of Heritable Bank, a UK subsidiary of an Icelandic Bank in the same name. Thats 15% of the £18,000,000 total on deposit. Very good indeed, and the rest is scheduled to come back up to 2013. However, KCC don't believe all of this money will be coming back, and have "impaired", ie, taken a hit to the bottom line of £5,800,000

Things don't improve when the statements move onto the remaining two banks where KCC invested - Landsbanki and Glitnir. Both are Icelandic banks, therefore not under UK administration like Heritable. Neither have agreed to pay any monies yet, but according to the statements, between 95% and 100% of deposits are expected. I assume this is because of the status KCC or councils in general suggest they hold in these situations. Remember their press release in March;

"In terms of getting the money back we remain confident and optimistic that as a preferred creditor we will be first in the queue."

However, when you read on through the statement, KCC make this alarming comment;

"Recovery is subject to the following uncertainties and risks:

Failure to secure preferential creditor status would have a significant impact upon the amount of the deposit that is recoverable."

KCC do not have preferred creditor status as clearly stated in press releases in March. Without this status, they expect to get back between 33% and 40% of deposits.

Oh dear.

Coupled with Heritables "impairment" charge, Kent have already written down over £10,000,000 of these investments, but it could get much, much worse.

Kent County Council have been very economical with the truth. All press releases have been bullish about getting funds back, but when they have to put official pen to paper, the real horror story comes out.

One final point that needs clarity. Remember the "email that cost £3,000,000". This was paid over to Heritable on 1st October 2008 after an email had been sent from a financial advisor telling them not to. On the list of investments, two more cash amounts were made AFTER this - £5,000,000 on 2nd October, and £5,000,000 on 21st October. How and why were these deposits made when the rest of the world new of Iceland and its failing banks, and NOT to give them any money? If anyone has the answer, please feel to post it here or email me.

Financial mismanagement seems embedded in the culture of KCC. Iceland, Virginia flights. They seem to be creating and getting away with error after error. They must not be allowed to continue wasting our money on airports, failed investments or on any other folly.

Click here to read the full financial statements. Page 62 is where the Icelandic fund starts

Infratil freight up, passenger numbers down

2009-08-17T07:30:00.006+01:00

64% increase in freight from Apr-Jun 2009 verses Apr-Jun 2008.

45% decrease in passenger numbers over the same period.

Infratil said they expected 1,000,000 passengers by the end of next year.

I would suggest the proposed passenger numbers are a smokescreen - 'beads for the natives' - to smooth through 24/7 operation of fruit-carrying ageing jumbos.

Freight airports employ less people than passenger ones.

TDC state two reasons for supporting the airport

1) Thanet residents don't have to put themselves out for their annual holiday by spending a couple of hours getting too/from Gatwick, Heathrow, Stansted.

2) Jobs are created.

There were 8 destination on offer this year from Manston for all you holiday lovers. Manston can't entice operators down here. There is not the market, not the money around to do so. It costs serious money to base aircraft at any airport - millions. Is a serious operator going to spend hard cash in this financial climate when the airport chief exec says losses are "unsustainable" and "Manston will close"?

Freight operations, which are highly mechanised and need few people to offload planes in a few minutes, are not going to create thousands, not even hundreds of jobs. Example - Manston employs about 80 people to fly in veggies and fruit from Africa. Thanet Earth employs about 500 to grow fruit and veggies a mile up the road.

If Manston has failed and continues to fail on both of the councils main selling points, why is it still being supported?

How many other jobs in other industries/business on a site that size could be created? If East Kent residents are to be subjected to blight and night flights, what is the pay-off?

As far as I can see, a few people benefit from Manston, but is being sold as something for everyone. It isn't, it never will be.

Oh, the above picture. Ramsgate before Manston existed, for those who think people should just deal with things if something was here before them. I wholeheartedly agree.

Enemies of Ramsgate - #3 Roger Gale

2009-08-11T19:54:00.010+01:00

What could popular MP of the North (Thanet) could possibly have done to offend Ramsgatonians? Well, quite a bit actually;

High Speed Rail - When the full service starts, it will lop off a minimum of 40 minutes from the current journey to a mainline London station. Unfortunately, Rog is upset on two fronts; Margate trains are not as quick as Ramsgate ones; and the trains go into the 'wrong station'. You see Roger it seems would like the train to deposit him at Victoria, a couple of mins down the road from Parliament. If he had it his way high speed rail would bypass Ramsgate, carve a way through south London and drop him off on the terrace. Sorry Roger, it is what it is.

Manston - Roger has often spouted his support for Manston whenever he gets an opportunity; Creation of a Kent "Hub" airport, even though his own party leaders deem this a ridiculous idea; Creation of a parkway station at the airport so literally, erm, dozens of passengers can alight directly at the airport saving a massive 7 minute transfer from Ramsgate station. Yours for an estimated £1,000,000,000 Roger; Manston, Olympic airport. Apparently, all the major airports in the area have been plying the 2012 Olympic committee since 2005, but Infratil turned its nose up as it thought it would be doing so much other business it wouldn't have time to fit some Olympians and worldwide press in. Fast forward to this year, and after BAWC said no thanks again, Manston owners asked Rog to blaze a trail to Seb Coe and friends offering Manston as the most secure airfield in the UK. Make that the most remote Roger, which has its drawbacks for obvious reasons. All of this trumpeting, and Manston is not even in his constituency!

Now, to the main thrust of Rog's airport escapades to make the Enemies of Ramsgate list. Roger presides over the completely dead town, once great seaside town of Margate. Its has had a lot to deal with over the past 30 years - People naffing off to Spain by the plane load (from airports other than Manston), dole-on-sea making some of the imported locals less than desirable, and years of mis-management by the incumbent councils. However the main problem with Margate has been these issues (and many others I'm sure) coupled with the demise of its main attraction - Dreamland.

As the local MP, you would expect our Rog to have been engaging with the owners, always in the press, raising questions in the house. But no - silence. Complete and utter silence over Dreamland. Did you know that Roger has not made one point, asked one question on the demise of Dreamland? The greatest travesty to bestow Margate, robbing it of between 700,000 and 2,000,000 visitors a year, starting a downward spiral where we now see no visitors, empty shops and tens of millions of our money being spent to bring a few thousand to see some modern art? Margate's representative in parliament says nothing.

Not one word.
Nada.
Nish.
Zero.
A big fat nought.

Roger knows the score though. This week in the Falklands, performing one of his many worthwhile tasks and visiting our troops. However, he still managed to find the time to take a swipe at the Government about investment in defences of the South Atlantic islands - "....we’re getting to the point where if we don’t invest money soon then it will be much more expensive later." Undoubtedly, very true indeed, and more of the same can be said on our troops all over the world. However, The same could have been said of Margate. If people had acted more quickly, or acted at all, things would have been much cheaper. Opportunity lost, and on his watch. All that money now being spent on Margate unnecessarily where town tax revenues from visitors could have remained high with investment much lower.

Why does this make Roger an enemy of Ramsgate? In the same period, Roger has made 9 comments about Manston and its virtues in Parliament. Manston which is not in his constituency, which overflys Ramsgate which is not in his constituency. Manston which flew 10,000 people last year. A great success, worth all the effort.

Should that make him an Enemy of Margate as well?

Thumbs down for food flights

2009-08-10T20:02:00.006+01:00

Another shot in the arm for Manston's oh-so unsustainable business plan today from the Government and DEFRA today.

Food security - ensuring the UK's non-dependency on third parties - was the main topic of a launch of a study into what our food policy should look like up to 2030.

Autumn will be the release date of the review which will no doubt bring up our import, by unsustainable air freight, of fruits/produce out-of-season in the UK. The Government wish to start a debate on the dangers we have seen over the past couple of years where oil prices and droughts elsewhere in the world can have a serious effect on food prices here in Blighty.

As our beloved Thanet District Council and Kent County Council not only preside over a bustling bread/fruit/vegetable basket here in Kent, we also have the only hydroponic greenhouse in the UK, which alone has the potential to produce 10% of the UK's salad needs.

Compare this with the fruit-only-freight Manston, whose business plan looks as safe as Grade II listed houses on Marina Drive with the ongoing global recession,oil price volatility and studies such as the one announced today.

Rest assured, you can bank on our councils taking all of this information into consideration when using our money to plan for the future. I am sure their policy of tarmacing/concreting over any top quality agricultural soil is the best way forward, considering Manston and Infratil will be able to provide cheap food from somewhere thousands of miles away while oil prices go through the roof and the world population jumps 50%.

Each time you shop for food, ensure you read the label and pick something thats been grown close to home and is in season. Doing this will be a small step to ensuring our food and food habits have a sustainable future. Strawberries from Morocco in January are not sustainable. Neither are Mangoes from Pakistan all year round.

Speak to your supermarket and tell them you want things grown locally. There is no reason why most things can't be.

Enjoy your dinner.

Click here to read the report in BBC Online

Enemies of Ramsgate #2 - Supporters of Manston who do not live under the flightpath

2009-08-07T13:09:00.005+01:00

Why should ageing photographers from Margate, retired pilots from Westgate, or tory/Labour/Tory/Labour/Tory again Councillors from St Peters be involved in the decision making process of allowing planes to be flown at under 1,000 feet over the whole of Ramsgate?

Would they like it if Ramsgate residents wholeheartedly supported bail houses next door to them? It makes sense that prisoners have somewhere to go when released, somewhere they can be monitored. St Peters has a few large empty houses. It seems like the ideal place.

Would they like it if Ramsgate residents gave the thumbs up to Amusement arcades in Westgate. After all, kids need somewhere to hang around when its wet outside, and I'm sure they'd always leave quietly taking their litter with them. Plus groomers need somewhere dry to operate anyhow.

Would Margate residents be understanding if Ramsgate residents insisted that the best known seaside amusement park in the south of England was reduced to smoking embers to make way for a retail housing complex? After all, it had fallen down to a piffling 700,000 visitors each year, and Westwood Cross is oh so yesterday. We want some more shops please. Ikea. Gap. Maybe a John Lewis. House of Fraser. For those few occaisions you go shopping each year, just for the convenience you know? Save that trip up the road. I mean, why should I spend a couple of hours on the road when all I'm doing is stopping nearly a million people enjoying themselves and ruining a town?

For the same reason Ramsgate residents are not decision makers in these issues, supporters of Manston who are not overflown/affected by planes from the airfield have no right to decide whats good for the people underneath the flightpaths.

High speed rail to replace short haul flights

2009-08-06T09:13:00.006+01:00

Lord Adonis has plagiarised the Conservative policy on high speed rail in the UK and publicly stated that fast trains should replace domestic air travel here in Blighty.

In yesterday and todays Guardian, multiple page spreads have detailed his proposals and outlined current services and future proposals for high speed rail in Europe and beyond.

Where the UK were pioneers in the railways, we now severely lack behind the rest of the world in getting from A to B, on the ground, city centre to city centre in double quick time. Spain, Italy, Switzerland Belgium and Poland all boast more high speed track that the Brits, as well as the usual suspects of France and Germany. The Dutch are the only other major European country lagging behind.

A company called High Speed Two has been set-up to draw up plans and routes from London to Glasgow, taking in all major cities on the way Taking the recently installed Madrid to Barcelona line, 46% of air traffic has been taken by rail. 80% of traffic between Paris/Brussels is railway owned. Unsustainable short haul flights would be hugely reduced. Its estimated by the Chief Exec of the SNCF that Glasgow would be 3 hours to London, instead of the current 5 hours. 3 hours is the agreed cut off point that train travel becomes more attractive than air.

As High Speed One is now opening here, Kent residents already have enhanced transport links to the rest of the country. Where before you had to take a snail train to the south/central London stations and slog it across to the Euston Road for Northbound trains, you can now speed directly to the Derby/Leeds/Nottingham platforms at Euston. It already takes hours off a journey to these destination by taking London out of the equation.

The really interesting link up is the fast rail network in mainland Europe reached via the Eurostar. Cities across Europe, now accessible by high speed trains, there are real alternatives to flying.

Richard Brown of Eurostart, writing a letter to the Guardian today, best sums up the broader picture.

"There will always be journeys for which flying is a more realistic option. But with employers wanting better punctuality and en route productivity, holiday makers seeking to enjoy the journey and not just the destination, and all of us needing to reduce our environmental impact, high speed rail has a very promising future."

So with both main political parties talking the talk on fast trains, where does this leave Manston. Does their already shaky future look any rosier after Labours act of theft of Tory Policy? If you were KCC or TDC would you be putting all of your eggs in the airport basket when you've been gifted your own high speed rail link?

I've said it before and I'll no doubt say it again. Manston is the wrong way forward. The air industry has a very uncertain future. 10 years of close to nothing, £4,000,000 a year down the pan - our councils still blindly follow this deadbeat business. These tired old men need to be moved aside so a fresh, sensible future can be planned for Thanet.

Click here to read The Guardian

Enemies of Ramsgate - A New Series. #1 - Kent County Council

2009-08-05T18:52:00.001+01:00

Apologies for residents of Herne Bay, St Nicholas, Acol and anywhere else overflown from Manston, but I wanted to keep the title simple.

This and following posts will look at groups, individuals, places, items that collectively do their utmost to support Manston Airport and the ruination it will bring to Ramsgate (and other towns villages) if it becomes the freight/passenger airport it wants to be. Or half the airport it wants to be. Or a quarter the airport it wants to be.

I will look to explain why we think they are against us, keep it topical and hopefully shame those named to repent and join the good fight. These posts will also show that these are enemies of not just effected towns and villages, but the whole of Kent.

If anyone has any suggestions (I've got 8 total so far), feel free to email us.

So, without further ado......

Kent County Council

Not content with;

supporting Manston to 10,000,000 passengers per annum, 6,000,000 passenger per annum (depending on which page of their website you go to)

using our money to throw down the Manston toilet by promoting flights to Kent, Virginia that never 'got off the ground'

using pictures of the Royal Harbour Ramsgate, where 747's fly over at under 1,000 feet, in Visit Kent promotional material next to Council Leader Carters monologue on how good the airport will be for Kent

supporting supposed job creating, dirty great warehouse and transport hubs in far flung, under funded corners or Kent, whilst snubbing them in their own leafy Maidstone backyard just because a field next to the M20 would be turned into sheds

having the audacity to vote themselves an 8% pay rise after their only notable achievement of their last 5 years was to throw £50,000,000 of our money down an Icelandic plughole (haven't seen any of it coming back yet Mr Gilroy?)

......the latest insult is the picture at the top of the posting. This is from KCC's website, promoting Filming in Kent. This is a film being made in Ramsgate, on a street I happen to know, which is being obviously being used for a period setting. Preserved Victorian streets are handy for such things. It just so happens this scene is RIGHT UNDERNEATH THE FLIGHTPATH TO MANSTON!. If the council had their wish, would filming on this street have been able to take place with planes coming over at under 600 feet, as they do here, every few minutes, all day, all night?

For these reasons, and many countless others, Stop Manston Expansion Group names you , Kent County Council, as our very first "Enemy of Ramsgate".

Air news round up

2009-07-31T12:24:00.009+01:00

Infratils Monthly report announces a 190% jump in freight at Manston in June 09 over last year. This is against falling passengers and freight at Prestwick (down 26% and 40% respectively), but growing numbers at Lubeck, up 37%. How it must hurt Infratil that the one airport that's doing so well is the only one they can be sure of selling.

Lubecks great figures are set against a doom and gloom backdrop of European aviation. Passengers, freight down double digits across the board verses 2008, where 2008 was also down on 2007. Makes them all the more impressive. Makes you wonder what Infratil Airports Europe figures will look like when its just Prestwick and Manston.

Apparently the huge percentage rise at Manston was caused by a new operator, Allied Air of Nigeria, shipping more food from a starving continent to keep us fat Brits in the manner we are accustomed to. Additionally, remember when purchasing your fruit from a supermarket - if its come from Africa, Turkey, US, NZ/Aus, its more than likely been flown here, and therefore not sustainable in the long term. For short term profits for Infrastructure companies, its ideal.

Click here to read the report

BA have dropped another nut in the last quarter. £148m down the pan in the three months to June. With the outlook for BA's business plan looking bleak, and air passenger/freight numbers down across the board, last years losses of £400m loom large on the horizon.

Only a few months ago, Infratil, TDC, KCC, Roger Gale, Steven Ladyman, Laura Sandys et al were singing the praises of BA as the "type of company Thanet wanted to attract". Money losing entities, with shot business plans and bleak outlooks - sounds EXACTLY the type of business our leaders have managed to attract over the past 20 years.

Click here to read the BBC report

Finally, BAA, owners of Manston rivals Heathrow, Stansted and Gatwick (Matt Clarke/Paul Carters view, not mine/anyone half sensible) have announced half yearly losses of £550m, citing falling passenger numbers and drops in value of its terminals as the driver. With continuing uncertainty for the South East airports pending the Competition Commission's order for BAA to sell two of their three, Infratil will be watching how this plays out very carefully. They have purchased Manston with one eye on the London Market, hoping the UK Government will spend a small fortune of our money bringing it closer to the Capital. With public finances in the precarious position they are, I don't forsee any government spending £1,000,000,000 to save 20 minutes journey time to a regional airport with a dubious commercial history. I don't see them spending £1,000.

Click here to read the Airwise report

Exciting new development comes to Manston's flight path

2009-07-30T19:24:00.001+01:00

As highlighted on Than.Net, Thanet Council (or is it SEEDA?) have asked the architects who gave us Royal Sands to provide some drawings for Port Ramsgate.

As you can see from the above picture, a rather large group of buildings topped by a 'skyscraper' protruding over the Westcliff somewhat has been placed right in front of the old Motor Museum.

I wonder when us great unwashed of Ramsgate will get to hear officially of such grand schemes? Probably after the planning permission has been granted, no doubt.

The council mare coming up with these developments but not really thinking things through. Firstly, it protrudes over the top of the cliff. I'd say the regency building behind the cliff should continue with the view they have had for a couple of hundred years. Secondly, they ruin any value in such developments by supporting night flights, 24/7 operation, 6,000,000 passengers a year, 300,000 tonnes of freight and the hundreds of flights each day/night those people/cargo will bring.

Who is going to fork out £500,000+ for a penthouse when all it means is you will be able to see the whites of the pilots eyes? How will Terence Painter shift another group of apartments on a flightpath?

Ramsgate - Take Off and Landings today

2009-07-28T20:28:00.008+01:00

Throughout today, Ramsgate was subjected to 747, 737, 747, exec jet, 747, exec jet exec jet exec jet etc etc from around midday onwards.

Not all were landings, not all were take offs. I counted 3 landings over Ramsgate by 747's, two take offs. All of the 20 or so exec jet landings (annoying training flights, bringing nothing but noise and air pollution to Thanet) were landings.

Within a 25 minute spell a 747 landed, a 747 took off, a 737 landed, and the exec jet 'landed' three times.

Planes are supposed to land/takeoff into the wind, when its over 10km/h. As you will all know if you were in Ramsgate, it was windy all day. Looking at Manstons own weather reports, it was also blowing from the south west all day as well not dropping below 20km/k from around 9am.

So why were planes taking off and landing over Ramsgate all day even though the wind direction would normally mean that both ends of the runway are used? Money.

You see, fuel costs money. Flying west when your destination is east uses more fuel. Flights from Manston today were taking off over Ramsgate in the same direction as the wind because it is cheaper.

Infratil are a bad neighbour. They actively seek night flights against the overwhelming majority of Thanet residents, allow planes under permit which other airport discourage, will not enforce resident friendly flightpath where possible so noise is reduced, don't consult residents when making seismic changes to their future use, remove noise monitors, and now allow flights to take off over an urban area with the wind to save a few quid.

I have provided the Infratil complaints button below. It takes a few seconds to get your complaint in. I encourage anyone who cares enough about Thanet's future to start asking pertinent questions of the airport. When you are finished with them, send an email to Brian White, then the local MP Steven Ladyman. Ask them what they are doing to ensure that the right to a safe and peaceful environment for Ramsgate residents is being reviewed thoroughly. Their emails are on the sidebar.

Click here to COMPLAIN ONLINE to the AIRPORT

.

Permit to Fly

2009-07-27T16:26:00.008+01:00

I have it on good authority that 181 aircraft, mostly freight carrying planes, have landed at Manston 'under permit' since Infratil took over. See the response from the DoT below.

Dear Smeg,

With regards to your query regarding the number of permits that have been issued to fly to KIA since May 2006, I can confirm that 181 permits have been issued. These were mostly cargo flights.

Looking at the CAA website on permits HERE, there is not much to please residents living under the flightpaths.

Permits are issued to certain aircraft when safety certificates from a manufacturer, for example, have lapsed or been withdrawn. Mmm.

One line in particular from the document grabs my attention;

"Aircraft will not normally be permitted to fly over congested areas."

I wonder why........?

I'm looking into this further with the Civil Aviation Authority, Department of Transport, but if anyone would like to shed some some light on the subject I'll be happy to update the posting.

Wake up and smell the........fumes

2009-07-26T11:45:00.004+01:00

Not content with giving Ramsgate an early morning wake up call, we have now been subjected to 4 circuits by the above ageing prop plane. Not the loudest plane to use Manston, but not the quietest either.

As you can see from the picture, that wonderful aroma in the air is fumes spewing from its engines.

What great neighbours we have. Sunday morning noise and air pollution aplenty.

Click here to complain online

Rude Awakening

2009-07-26T08:22:00.005+01:00

For some of us who are away from home only on a Monday to Friday, weekends are a time to recharge the battery, lie back and relax in the peace and quiet our homes provide. Imagine my surprise when I was awoken by the same plane flying over my house twice this morning.

At 0730, a 4 engined jet flew east over Ramsgate, taking off from Manston, and made enough racket to wake me from my slumber. Rather bizarrely, the same plane then came back 5 or so minutes later, heading west and coming into land. As it was landing it was at under 1,000 feet for the whole of Ramsgate, extremely loud, and no doubt waking up a fair number if not all of those living on the flightpath.

Was it training, just waking us up for fun? Was there a problem? I have asked the relevant authorities (the airport and TDC) and will report back when I hear anything (don't hold your breath).

I am not religious so my Sunday is not ruined. I am relatively young, fit and can deal with an early morning at the weekend. I am up at 5am weekdays, so 0730 is a bit of a lay-in. However, I'm not sure others awoken will be quite as accepting of a pointless flight.

As this was the 3rd and 4th flights I've counted over Ramsgate this weekend, it just goes to show what a bustling airport it is, and these flights this morning are undoubtedly keeping about 300 people and 500 local businesses afloat.

If anyone want to make comment to the council, Brian White's email, and Manston's complaints site are on the sidebar.

If anyone has any further information about todays flight, feel free to post/email me.

Otherwise, click here to complain online

Infratil ponders sale of European Airports

2009-07-24T09:28:00.008+01:00

Now, I know this has been discussed before, but last Friday the story circulated again after the European Commission flagged that Infratil would be selling it's stake in lubeck airport, Germany.

Infratil are 'seriously thinking' of selling their 90% holding back to the local government. Both infratil and the council have an agreement where they can force a sale or purchase respectively if certain conditions are met. As the airport has not attained a certain number of passengers, they can exercise their right to sell in October for approximately NZ$ 40m more than they bought it for. Very nice - or is it?

You see, infratil airports Europe consists of prestwick, manston and lubeck. Prestwick are not exactly doing fantastically well. It has been reported in the Scottish press that ryanair are dropping 30% of their flights this winter over last year. 80 or so people have been made redundant off the back of reduced passengers numbers already. Manston's issues are we documented. 10 years operation, 7 flights a week.

Lubeck is actually doing quite well. May passenger numbers were up 28% on last years, new routes being added, all against a backdrop of a fall in passengers and routes across Germany.

So why sell? Well, simply because they can with this agreement. It must hurt to do so when the one European asset that's actually performing well will have to be sold while two retreating businesses have to stay, draining precious cash from the company coffers.

Still, chief exec Marko bogoievski has not ruled out selling stakes in prestwick or manston if buyers could be found. How likely is that? Prestwick probably, but Manston as a going concern? Costing £4m a year, 10 years of private operation resulting in 7 flights a week, it's doubtful manston can be a profitable airport.

The reason I am reporting this a week after it cane out is that last time the chief exec was quoted saying he would sell manston a quick pr backtrack was added to the local rag story. I wanted to give it time to see if such a thing happened again. It hasn't, and this story is posted on the new Zealand stock exchanges website.

Click here for the story

High Speed Rail - its the future

2009-07-22T19:20:00.003+01:00

I have personally been taking advantage of the high speed trains from Ashford after a 48 minute journey from Ramsgate. Working equal distance between Cannon St and St Pancras, it doesn't add much in the way of a journey for me, and the additional current cost (£18.90 a week) is not too prohibitive, especially when you are shelling out over £100 already.

The whole experience (apart from having to change trains at Ashford) is excellent. Ultra clean trains, no graffiti, extra wide seats, extra legroom, armrests, extra-deep tables - but no jacket-hangers, which is the only gripe.

The preview service from St Pancras is a bit light, with only 3 trains an evening, and a bit of a gap between the first two. Miss the 1737 and you have an hour wait for the next train. No problem though - domestic passengers have their own retail area, with a burger bar (not Ramsgate market shergar-burgers ECR), yo-sushi for any Russian spies, M&S, WH SMith, couple of coffee shops and a few others I can't remember. All brand spanking new, and not really like anything at any other mainline station.

The preview service has already become so popular that train sizes have been doubled from 6 to 12 coaches, and there is the possibility that East Kent preview services will start in October - but unconfirmed as yet.

Manston owners Infratil, KCC, TDC, Julian Brazier MP, Roger Gale MP and probably countless others have spoken of this link being spurred off to a new Manston Parkway station. I am sure the 10,000 passengers currently using the airport will be appreciative. Oh sorry, Infratil admit only 30% of airport passengers will arrive by train, so make that 3,000. Well worth the suggested investment of £1,000,000,000 to shave 20 mins off the train journey and save a 10 minute bus journey for a group of passengers that may never materialise.

Having spoken to South Eastern about this, it seems that High Speed One will operate at 95% capacity from December this year, mean any "airport specials" will be at the detriment of services currently running.

A final note from todays Evening Standard. A Facebook support group of the new High Speed service has been set-up and requested that south eastern bosses up the prices further to keep the riff-raff out!

Council/Airport Meeting, 2pm today - Message for Council members attending

2009-07-22T09:56:00.004+01:00

Thanet Council - just some headlines for you to ponder prior to todays meeting with Matt Clarke to discuss/rubber stamp their Masterplan;

"BA predict 5 year recovery for Business Travel"

"Ryanair to cut 670 flights, close 10 routes this winter"

"Aer Lingus boss falls on sword after €119m loss"

"United Airlines cuts capacity by 7% due to sagging demand"

"May Air Cargo drops 17.4%, recovery still far off - IATA"

"Economic slump hits Lufthansa June Cargo"

These headlines are all from the last week, but similar stories have been presented to us daily for the past 18 months. This slump in aviation is unprecedented. BA's model (trumpeted by you as the 'type of company you want to attract' only a few months ago) is now widely agreed to be broken. Ryanair are cutting back not only because of APD, but because demand is slumping across the board. Prestwick passengers were down 27% year on year in May. Manstons 64% down. Freight traffic has tiny margins. Fuel price volatility means long term air freight profitability is impossible to estimate.

Infratil describe the losses at Manston as 'unsustainable'. The public are against agreeing to demands by the operators for night flights. If they don't suggest closing the airport and trying something else, you should be suggesting it to them.

Manston will continue to fester; under-used, unloved, under-funded. It will continue to blight East Kent while the 'aspirations' of a Stansted size airport remains.

Thanet needs a clean start.

The Boneyard

2009-07-19T12:07:00.006+01:00

One.

6 dumped planes now? Is this what Manston is to be used for? Perhaps our council will ask when Master Clarke of Manston is granted a private audience later this week.

Probably not.

Two. Three.

Four.

Five.

Six.

Tory contradictions

2009-07-14T21:58:00.005+01:00

Julian Brazier - Supportive of Manston/KIA/Infratil who have begged TDC to allow night flights, but totally against night flights when speaking in parliament.

Boris Johnson - against Heathrow expansion, supportive of City Airport expansion, leading a review into a Thames Estuary island 4 runway airport, preferred by him and his team to expansion of Manston.

David Cameron - Publicly against Heathrow, publicly supportive of high speed rail over short haul flights, but MP's under his 'command' publicly support regional airport expansion across the country

Paul Carter - Against job creating transport links in his own backyard, fully supportive of job creating transport links in Thanet

Paul Carter - Publicly states that Ramsgate does not exist (...planes from manston fly straight out to sea), but happily collects council tax from 10,000 Ramsgate residents

Paul Carter - Openly supports on KCC's website public opposition to a proposed private development in his own back yard, but fails to attend a public debate on an opposed private development in Thanet

Laura Sandys - A green vision for a green isle while supporting a polluting airport with 4 decaying planes and no interceptor tanks for runway discharge into Pegwell

Pure Dead Brilliant

2009-07-12T19:32:00.006+01:00

No, not my holiday, but the slightly strange term used to advertise Manston's sister airport, Prestwick, brought to my attention by some Scot's I bumped into.

It seems Infratil don't only talk up Manston as the next big thing, but Prestwick gets the treatment as well; money spent on the railway that never materialises, and a departure lounge that was cutting edge in the 70's seem to be Infratils tour de force. "At least they have not graffiti'd your airport with a 'Ned' saying", was the comment that grabbed my attention.

'Ned's' seem to be the Scottish equivalent of 'Chav's', and the saying plus the above slogan being scrawled on the terminal building seem to have upset a few of the locals as they bring the tone of the area down.

When I've questioned a Scottish friend on my return what type of client would a business whose slogan is "Pure Dead Brilliant" be trying to attract?

He replied "A Ned who can spell".

So what should Infratil scrawl on the side of their Manston shed that reflects the locality, customers?

Pure? I don't think so.
Dead? Abso-bloomin'-lutely
Brilliant? To its mother, but no-one else.

Answers on a postcard please.....

Friday fight night

2009-07-01T07:34:00.003+01:00

Sorry for the delay in posting. Been otherwise indisposed. Highlights from the slap and tickle public kiacc meeting.

80 or so public attendees
Paul carter cried off. Family event rearranged? can anyone else give me an example of this happening to them? A Saturday family event moved to the Friday on a Thursday? I would say he more likely had the 8% jitters, and the thought of confronting people he freely states do not exist, bailing out at the last minute was best for him.
( I see in the press he is now asking the DFT for high speed rail into east Kent. Sorry to steal your thunder Paul, but this started on 29th June already. I would love to be a fly on the wall on that conversation;" can we have a billion pounds to run a higher speed railway to an airport 75 miles from London that apprx 10,000 people use every year?) answers on a postcard.

Paul twyman was not impressed. He wanted to raise to the standards committee. Three noticeable people against. Latchford. Steve "manston should be allowed to expand without restraint, regulation" duke, and matt clarke, who questioned the chairmans ability to raise a vote on it. All were sent away with a flea in their ear.

Matt Clarke gave an upbeat presentation. Graphs showing upticks in everything airport, investment in radar, interceptor tanks - all very good. He showed a slide on jobs. He was on the slidefor a matter of seconds, but I did manage to scribble down the total number - 81. Not 85, around 100, or 150 which matt has publicly stated recently. 81.

Ros mcintyre a resident from herne bay gave a very good speach on why planes should be using a path over unpopulated areas of east kent and not herne bay and ramsgate. I promise to publish a more detailed account later.

In response, matt Clarke said you needed secondary radar, which would not be forthcoming because the airport was not busy enough. But hang on - in his upbeat speech, matt said radar would be invested in? Contradicted his own presentation. Rest assured - daddy (infratil parent company) has cutt the apron strings and junior is in the big bad world by himself. They have publicly stated that there will not be any investment at manston. They have to get business level up that necessitate investment, not invest to attract. That means that good neighbour, people freindly Flightpaths will not happen.

Pete binding made the very valid point of 10 years providing 7 scheduled flights each week- what exactly is the point of manston?

A representitve of ramsgate said planes taking offwere the biggest problem over ramsgate. I responded it was landing planes causing the most noise for most of the town.

An elderly gentleman stood and gave a monologue, lived here 60 years, Thanet needs jobs, let the airport get on with it, which was met with applause, the heartiest coming from worrow, latchford and Clarke.

I responded with that Thanet does need jobs, manston has proven it will never be a success, will take more away from ramsgate than it can ever provide by flying planes at under 1,000 feet over the beach, leisure area, harbour, shopping and housing . Matt Clarke was hollering back " if it will fail, why complain", and I respondedthat while manston exists as an airport with aspirations it will continue to blight towns on the flightpath. I also said that just because manston had a runway does not mean it has to be an airport, to which john worrow shouted back, getting almost as red as latchford "What would you put there,you say get rid of it but have not idea what you would put in it's place". I pointed out that he as an elected representitive should be thinking if this already as the airport owners have already threatened to close the airport. John didn't believe me, and I pointed to matts "nightflights or I will cry" presentation.

a schoolteacher and mother asked the panel what legacy polluting airport would leave to her children.

Finally the highlight- ron blay dancing in front of the panel holiding up a no training flights, no night flights banner and handing it to matt clarke.

If I have misrepresented anything, anyone, feel free to email me.

Paul Carter comes to Thanet

2009-06-24T23:50:00.004+01:00

A couple of gems from our beloved Leader;

"Planes from Manston fly straight out to sea", forgetting about the 80,000 or so inhabitants of Ramsgate, Herne Bay, St Nicholas and other villages on the flightpath.

"Manston has the longest runway in the country". No it hasn't. Its got the 14th longest runway in the country.

"Today, on behalf of Kent County Council, I authorise ...agreements...to secure the introduction of direct transatlantic flights between Manston and Norfolk Airport, Virginia." £150,000 of our money squandered in July 2006.

"We will use every tool in our cupboard to fight this grotesque application". Paul Carter on the 275 acre, 3,500 job creating Kent International Gateway freight depot. Unlike Manston (700 acres, 7,500 jobs - allegedly), Kent International Gateway is in Pauls Bearsted backyard.

"Yes, I think Icelandic banks are a great place to put the publics money". No, he didn't say that really, but you get my drift.

Friday night, at 7pm, he will be attending the KIA Consultative Committee meeting. The public will get an opportunity to speak.

I think Paul Carter needs to be reminded of the people he supposedly represents and our right to a peaceful, pollution free environment.

Meeting Friday 7pm - Question for Matt Clarke, Paul Carter, TDC's rep

2009-06-23T16:38:00.003+01:00

Noise contours, which drive blight payments, building regulations and house prices, are calculated over a 16 hour daytime period, taken over 92 summer days. Proposals for night flights would mean flights that happen against a background of less ambient noise, and are therefore louder, would not be included in the calculation for the contours. Do you think the noise contours should take night flights into consideration?

Questions for Fridays meeting - Brian White substitute

2009-06-23T08:46:00.005+01:00

Not sure who is attending in Brians place, but in his absence, I assume someone will be taking notes;

Director of Economic Development & Regeneration - what regenerative effects does flying planes at less than 1,000 feet across the beach, harbour, leisure/retail area and 10,000 houses have to the picturesque seaside town of Ramsgate? What studies have you undertaken, investigating airports with similar passenger/freight numbers proposed for Manston, with similar proximity to a town as Manston is to Ramsgate?

Questions for Fridays meeting # 2 - Paul Carter

2009-06-22T15:06:00.003+01:00

As Leader of Kent County Council and a representative of the people of Kent, do you now understand that it is impossible for planes to 'fly straight out to sea' when using Manston?

Meeting Friday 26th June, 7pm - Manston Departure Lounge

2009-06-22T08:55:00.003+01:00

This week, I shall be posting questions that it would be nice to know the answers to for Fridays meeting. First in the series- question for Matt Clarke, Manston boss.

How long is 'unsustainable'?

Airport Working Party - Visits to other airports

2009-06-19T07:32:00.009+01:00

The Thanet District Council Airport Working party, whose remit is to respond to the airport Masterplan as well as get the owners to sign a new 106 agreement governing flying times, routes, noise abatement, blight payments etc etc (4 years and still no sign of it) have been on 'jollys' across the country visiting other airports.

They've met with the airport owners themselves, plus the local councils governing those airports - we can safely assume they all do a much better job of managing the airports that Thanet Council do.

Below, I attach Google Maps images all from similar height of those airports. Manston is the very first one. The main noticeable difference is the closeness of the urban mass of Ramsgate in comparison to the flights paths of the runways. Noise is concentrated in a cigar shaped contour along the length of the runway, extending over their ends. Noise contours created by Manston, and all other airports, support. this.

Al the airport, save Southend, have absolutely nothing like the amount of people living directly under the flightpath within such a short distance.

(Southend has a small runway which only supports the smaller jets, and landing predominantly come from the east - over an industrial estate and fields. There is a huge up swell of opinion against expansion plans at the airport)

When Thanet District Council are visiting larger airports that Manston for pointers for the future, they are visiting airports that have little similarity of the potential effects to Thanets population.

Manston

Bournemouth

Bristol

Doncaster

Norwich

Prestwick

Southend

KIA CC Meeting 26th June, 7pm, Airport departure lounge

2009-06-17T09:35:00.007+01:00

Please note that the Manston Consultative Committee PUBLIC meeting takes place next Friday at 7pm at Manston.

For the majority of East Kent people that have never been to Manston, this is an opportunity to not only voice any concerns you might have about noise pollution, ancient jumbos taking short-cuts across the Isle, missing noise monitors, lack of public consultation on the airport 'Masterplan'/Fairytale, disregard for Environment Agency advice and wanting to fly 24/7, you can also get to see what the inside of a 10,000 passenger a year airport looks like.

Once you've got used to the blinking fluorescent lights and uncomfortable seats, you can settle in an listen to some Consultative Committee members bringing valid concerns to the Council and Airport owners, whilst they smirk and take no notice. Its not a pleasurable experience.

However, once a year, the public get to speak, and I have it on good account the public are going to get a lot of airtime on this occasion.

The added bonus - Paul "planes from Manston fly straight out to sea" Carter, leader of KCC, is rumoured to be attending. I think all disenfranchised Thanetians, Herne Bayers, St Nickers, should give him a warm welcome.

What the Government thinks about Manston - #1

2009-06-14T21:42:00.003+01:00

"This assessment assumed that maximum use was made of existing runways at the major South East airports but that no new runway capacity was provided in the region."

"Manston – an upper limit of 3 million passengers per annum was assumed. Manston has a long runway, and has a relatively supportive planning environment. Key constraints are its geographic position in relation to the major sources of demand and noise impacts over the nearby town of Ramsgate."

This was published in 2003. In the 6 years that have elapsed, Infratil managed 10,000 passengers last year, the runway is still the 15th longest in the country, Manston is no nearer to anyone, and Ramsgate is still 1,000 feet and lower underneath its flightpath.

Click here for the report in full

Airlines to rack up huge losses

2009-06-08T09:28:00.004+01:00

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) have revised already horrific figures for 2009.

Earlier on in the year it advised airlines across the glob would lose a combined $4.7 billion for this calendar year. At a meeting today, the IATA have increased that global loss estimate to $9 Billion.

Coupled with last years estimated $10.4 Billion losses across the industry, thats a shed load of cash to walk out of the door.

IATA Managing Director Giovanni Bisignani said;

"We are going to revise them for the worse because the numbers we have seen in passengers and in freight are not showing any improvement," adding that it would take 3-4 years before revenues recovered to pre-crisis levels.

Worthy of the continued support of local government? They'd have more chance of a return on their efforts if they stuck another £50 million into Icelandic banks.

Infratil use firefighters as baggage handlers

2009-06-06T10:39:00.004+01:00

A story from May, but makes interesting reading for those currently working in such jobs as Manston.

Some snippets;

"according to one firefighter, who claims response times are much longer and that the professionals are too tired to deal with an emergency if it occurred.

The firefighter said: “I certainly wouldn’t fly from Prestwick Airport and I’ll be advising my friends and family to do the same."

and

"I would say response times could be increased to at least ten minutes, that’s no use in an emergency. Prestwick Airport is a hazard waiting to happen, they’re just cutting, cutting and cutting.

“Thankfully there has never been a major accident but, the way things are going, it’s only a matter of time."

For a balanced view, here is what Prestwick boss Mark Rodwell said;

"There is absolutely no risk to public safety."

So who is right - the firefighter who is willing to walk into burning planes and buildings to save people, or the airport boss with both eyes on the bottom line?

Times are hard for all business, but functions related to safety of your customers should surely not be compromised?

Our own issues at Manston are bad enough at present - no noise monitoring, decaying aircraft dumped on the water supply, questionable safety records of airline using the place, tearing up of long standing agreements re night flight, flight routes to name but a few.

Is Prestwick, with its job cuts and redistribution of the firefighters to baggage handling a taste of things to come?

Click here for the story in full

Manston is a dump

2009-06-04T21:52:00.004+01:00

Literally. The above plane, I noticed, had been stationary and sans engines for quite a while. A quick email to the Environment Agency (EA) about this, and the 4 other non-active planes at Manston (2 other 747's and a DC-8) prompted the following response;

"The...747 is owned by Air Atlanta. It was having work carried out but they can no longer afford to make it air worthy, so the airport have been notified they want it to be scrapped."

Air Atlanta? Aren't they mentioned by Infratil on their website as a "regular training visitor"? Do they visit to train up to become a stony broke aircraft operator as Manston is jam packed with them.

Anyway, the other planes;

"The Southern Winds aircraft (SW on the tail-fin) is being used as a training aircraft. This is not (yet) to be scrapped."

Training? The EA seem to have seen straight through that with the '(yet)' they added to the last sentence.

What about the other two?

"They have a white DC-8 which is...owned by MK Airlines. It is not flight worthy and is waiting to be dismantled..when the appropriate permits become available."

And;

"There is a white 747, reg no. N309TD, which has been stored for several months. It is also owned by MK Airlines. As far as the airport know, it is there as long term storage."

So there you have it. Manston - plane graveyard in the making.

Enjoy your pre-bed glass of water with that little lot decaying into it slowly.

Letter to all councillors - response

2009-06-03T18:57:00.005+01:00

In a short space of time, a relatively good response has been had;

45 letters sent
16 respondents

Without presenting all the response details, I'll provide you with a summary and cross section of comments. Firstly, a reminder of the questions;

1) Do you support expansion of Manston to 300,000 tonnes of freight and 10,000,000 passengers per annum, as stated in the Local Plan?

2) Do you support proposed expansion of night time flying hours?

3) What effect do you think 100 flights a day at less than 1,000 feet over the whole of Ramsgate would have on the town, its businesses, leisure areas, schools, houses – a positive or negative effect?

4) As the airport owners have stated the airport is “unsustainable” and “Manston will close”, should it close what would you propose should replace it as a potential representative of Ramsgate people and businesses?

5) As a potential Ramsgate representative, KIA Consultative Committee meetings, Airport Masterplans and Night Time flying extension meetings have all happened without representation of the people most effected – Ramsgate residents. What will you change to ensure Ramsgate Residents are engaged in open debate and have the biggest say in what can and can’t happen at the airport?

15 from 16 respondents opposed night time flying extensions

1 supported them - Robert Griggs, Nethercourt Ward.

12 generally supported the airport, 2 opposed, 2 gave no answer

10 didn't directly answer all the questions - perfect politicians

2 questioned where my figure of 10,000,000 passengers came from. click here to be taken to TDC's website showing the number

Gerry O'Donnell of Ramsgate Last, sorry, First, suggested that as I hadn't lived here longer than him I wasn't allowed to complain. Click here for a patronising view of the world

Peter Campbell, Central Harbour (LAB) responding to question 3; "This number of flights equates to about 6 planes an hour, therefore generally a positive effect". Thats 6 flights an hour, 18 hours a day, 7am to 11pm. Imagine perpetual training flights. Thanks Pete.

David Carr, Central Harbour (CON) is equally supportive of the airport in general. "A local survey was carried out a short while ago involving Nethercourt and Westcliff residents and more than 3/4 of those asked were in favour of the commercial success of the airport".

I'll publish a couple of responses in full on comments, as they've asked me to. I thank all the respondents for their time in answering the questions.

I wish them all luck in the elections, apart from Gerry O'Donnell.

Are Infratil serious about Manston - Resurrection

2009-06-01T21:30:00.006+01:00

While Mike Harrison, Brian White et al are toiling away on all things to do with the airport (and paid for by us), those in charge of the internet at Manston have dropped the ball - again.

The above picture shows a snippet from Manstons 'Airport News'.

31st April is a good one.

Departures up to 23rd May, still there on 1st June is to be expected.

Further down the page there are references to flights leaving on 10th May.

Makes you proud our council spend so much time on it, doesn't it.

Click here to view the offending page before Mr Internet at Manston gets a clip round the ear tomorrow

Letter to all prospective councillors

2009-06-01T09:01:00.005+01:00

I've sent the following letter to all councillors up for election this week in Ramsgate for KCC and Parish Council elections. All will have been in receipt of this at the latest today.

Two responses so far. I'll publish the results Wednesday.

In light of the coming elections and to clarify your stance on Manston Airport, would it be possible for you to respond to the following questions, either by return mail, email or phone?

1) Do you support expansion of Manston to 300,000 tonnes of freight and 10,000,000 passengers per annum, as stated in the Local Plan?

2) Do you support proposed expansion of night time flying hours?

3) What effect do you think 100 flights a day at less than 1,000 feet over the whole of Ramsgate would have on the town, its businesses, leisure areas, schools, houses – a positive or negative effect?

4) As the airport owners have stated the airport is “unsustainable” and “Manston will close”, should it close what would you propose should replace it as a potential representative of Ramsgate people and businesses?

5) As a potential Ramsgate representative, KIA Consultative Committee meetings, Airport Masterplans and Night Time flying extension meetings have all happened without representation of the people most effected – Ramsgate residents. What will you change to ensure Ramsgate Residents are engaged in open debate and have the biggest say in what can and can’t happen at the airport?

I will publish any responses and no responses given on my blog on Wed 3rd June

Councillors - Airports are bad for your health.

2009-05-29T07:59:00.001+01:00

The below is an article by public health officials in Bristol opposing expansion at Bristol Airport. If you supplant Bristol with 'Manston' while reading.......

Public health doctors argue the case against expanding Bristol's Airport

Expanding Bristol Airport – will it be good for the city? Bristol's Public Health doctors faced this question in 2006 during the consultation about more flights and expanded facilities.
The health of people in Bristol depends on many things, including a thriving economy, the quality of the places we live in, education for our children, the food we eat, opportunities for safe enjoyable physical activity, a fair and peaceful society, and so on. So as Public Health specialists we needed to look carefully at all the issues.
We all knew that expansion at Bristol Airport was said to be essential because it would create jobs and because everyone supposedly wants to fly more. But the downside was becoming harder to ignore.
It will increase the amount of aircraft noise and the volume of traffic and congestion through local communities. This will damage health, wellbeing and education for a sizeable proportion of those living nearby.
We knew that the health damage from noise, heavy traffic, and climate change were well backed by evidence.
But we wanted to be certain that we were not overlooking potential positive effects on health from new jobs, and from more people on low incomes being able to holiday abroad.
We looked at evidence from a study in Luton, and discovered that it is not the people on low incomes who are mostly using cheap flights. We also looked carefully at the reports that had been written on possible economic effects if Bristol Airport were to expand. These were the Tym Report, carried out for Bristol International Airport in October 2005, and the Whitelegg Report, done for the Parish Councils and Friends of the Earth in October 2005. They looked at trends and forecasts, and made different predictions about economic growth, about jobs at the airport, in the supply chain for the airport, from inbound tourism, and from construction.
They also suggested there would be losses to the South West economy if more tourists use cheap flights to go away for weekends and holidays.
We were surprised to find that the predictions of economic benefit in the Tym report were reached by pretty much ignoring the impending energy crunch, oil price rises, future green taxes, changes in business behaviour to reduce carbon footprints, and the impacts of recession.
The University of the West of England report for Business West, published in January 2008 after our submission, also seemed to overlook these looming restraints on growth.
The fact that these matters were ignored led us to feel any possible health benefits from the economic impacts of airport expansion were actually very uncertain.
Our group concluded that on health grounds the damage from airport expansion would definitely outweigh the possible benefits. We submitted our conclusions, from the West of England Public Health Climate Change Group, to North Somerset Council, on December 18, 2006 as part of the consultation.
Two years on, and the International Energy Agency has advised governments to prepare for inevitable and irreversible decline in world oil production. The Government's Stern Report has also said long-term economic damage from 'business as usual' and runaway climate change will be massively worse than the short-term economic cost of changing to a low-carbon economy.
The business case for airport expansion is now looking very shaky. Passenger numbers are down and people are looking closer to home for their holidays.
Airport bosses argue that more facilities at Bristol will create jobs and help get us out of the recession. But others say that new jobs must be in sectors with a future – such as renewable energy, local food production and local recreation.
The Bristol International Airport company has no responsibility for impacts beyond their own short-term profits. It is their job to try to persuade us expansion will be good for Bristol.
But as Public Health specialists we take a broader view and our conclusion is that expanding the airport will do more harm than good for Bristol people.
Dr Angela E Raffle B Sc (Hons) MB ChB FFPH

Training flights

2009-05-28T11:53:00.003+01:00

If you are being buzzed by continuous low level planes overheard, I point you to the sidebar on the right.

You should levy your complaint on Infratil and both Kent County Council and Thanet District Council. Ask them this - what economic benefit does plane going round and round and round and round bring to Kent?

High Speed Rail - timetable

2009-05-27T10:45:00.004+01:00

For those wishing to use the high speed trains from Ramsgate when they start in December, I've stumbled across draft timetables published by SouthEastern on 7th May. Funny - at Ramsgate station on Friday they said there were no details out yet. Nice to see the Railways haven't changed in my 20 years of using them!

Anyway, I've pulled out the Ramsgate to St Pancras rush hour trains here for you;

Ramsgate to St Pancras AM

Depart 0500 arrive 0623
Depart 0600 arrive 0718
Depart 0626 arrive 0748
Depart 0656 arrive 0812
Depart 0726 arrive 0848
Depart 0801 arrive 0921***

St Pancras to Ramsgate PM

Depart 1710 arrive 1829
Depart 1740 arrive 1859
Depart 1810 arrive 1929
Depart 1840 arrive 1959
Depart 1942 arrive 2059 ***
Vomit comet - Depart 22.42 arrive 23.58

Now, a small gripe. The ***'d trains are non-stop. All the others have a 7 minute wait at Ashford going up, a 6 minute wait going down. This seems to be at Ramsgates detriment, Dover/Folkstones benefit.

The timetables are draft, so if enough people using the Ramsgate branch complain that this wait is unnacceptable for both legs of the journey, go the the southeastern website http://www.southeasternrailway.co.uk/index.php/contact_us/feedbacks/index
and lodge a complaint. They could still change it, and it would lop another 5 mins off the journey.

However, 1 hr 19 is much better than the current 2 hours into town, regardless of which station it drops you off at.

Now, how much is this all going to cost........

Close it. Sell it. Move on.

2009-05-26T21:18:00.005+01:00

Surely this must have gone through Mr Infratils mind over the past couple of weeks? As it tips money down the aquifer with no green shoots in sight, it must be horrible working at Manston at present. With no potential future, your chief exec threatening to sell, your local boss saying the business is "unsustainable" and "Manston will close", staff must be looking mover their shoulders waiting for the inevitable.

This goes for the rest of us too.

Manston is a blight on Ramsgate, Herne Bay and other towns and villages in East Kent. It's demise will bring short term pain for long term gain - no blight, no potential for hundreds of flight per day and night, no pollution, no traffic problems, no re-routing of the high speed, reducing services to Ramsgate - all those time consuming, costly, detrimental things gone. Ramsgate gets to compete on a level playing field with other south east coastal towns. No airport will mean greater investment, more visitors. Ramsgate will become a much more desireable place to live,

Infratil can't be blamed for trying to make a buck from Manston. Their methods are questionable (bad neighbours, total disregard for Thanet residents, no investment in essential environmental kit, noise monitoring etc etc) plus the fact they were deranged to think they could make a swing of it as a successful airport anyway. (They still may come out laughing. Even in these depressed times, the land alone could be sold for up to 3 times their total investment over the past 4 years)

What are the council saying about all of these comments? Nothing. It's having meetings about a request for night flights that the airport owners have not even made yet. Whats it's 2030 vision for Ramsgate? A sailing destination. A place for people to visit, especially Londoners. Why would someone come to a harbour silted to within a few feet of the high tide surface, dodging ageing ferries while they are at it? Londoners - to escape the pollution and noise, lets go to Ramsgate and take in the....pollution and noise created by 300,000 tonnes of freight and 10,000,000 passengers flying less than 1,000 feet overhead.

As MP's struggle under a public backlash on fraudulent expense claims, isn't it about time Thanet residents called for an inquiry into the public funds poured into Manston by the bucketload?

Lucky Escape for Manston

2009-05-22T11:23:00.004+01:00

It seems Manston owners Infrastil have lucked out with BA staying put at Stansted.

BA's results out today would have only saddled Kents premier airport with another loss making airliner flying in and out. Still, it would make an interesting game of top-trumps in the officers mess;

Oasis - "We've gone down the plughole!"

MK - "I applaud administration, but we've clawed our way back out of it - just."

Infrastil's Matt Clarke - "Put some real numbers up! NZ pensioners have seen our share price underperform the market by 4% while we lost NZ$ 191,000,000!"

Cargo-Lux - "Pittance! As a direct result of a price fixing scandal, we've been fined over $100,000,000!"

BA - "Let the big boys through - £401,000,000 down. Eat my shorts."

Paul Carter - "Does £50,000,000 tied up at Iceland allow me in?"

Night Flights meeting - 'highlights'

2009-05-19T22:27:00.007+01:00

No public speaking allowed.

Lots of good points made by the Airport Consultative Committee (KIACC), made up from representatives from Parish Council's in the area, but strangely no Council representative of Ramsgate.

The main discussion points were around noise; the lack of monitoring; the need for monitoring; training flights that used to be restricted before Infratils days; the fines on night flights being a good deterrent to planes coming in late.

This last point was responded to by Stephen Dukes , an officer from Kent County Council, best know for his failure in not bringing Virginia Flights to Manston. He said that Infratil are running a business, that KCC supports, and these fines and restrictions don't help them when trying to run a business! Speaking as a representative of Kent County Council, we can only assume that is their view as well. He was rightly put down by a KIACC member for St Nicholas, who pointed out, rather forcefully, that its about striking a balance which is what the KIACC is for.

In regards to training flights, there apparently used to be rules in place to restrict the amount of circuits they could perform so we didn't have 747's around every few mins as we have in the past. These rules were re-negotiated by Infratil behind the KIACC's back when they took over, much to the annoyance of KIACC's members. It was mentioned that there was a trust issue with Infratil in regards to their conduct.

Mike Harrison had a little chuckle about Infratil's Masterplan, and how the Councils own response started with their view that it was "aspirational". With numbers such as 6,000,000 passengers and 300,000 tonnes of freight as targets in Infratils Masterplan, he is probably right. But then the Local Plan, put together by Thanet Council and Kent County Council, quotes 10,000,000 passengers and Thanets own 20 year vision quotes 300,000 tonnes of freight. Aspirational? More like delusional.

Finally, take-off, landing routes. There were negotiated routes that skipped through all of the villages, which were on a map, which the previous owners adhered to. But they were not legally binding. When Infratil bought the place for a snip, they threw out the map and stared to fly where the hell they wanted.

Who was in charge at the time of making sure the section 106 had the interest of East Kent residents at hear? Mike Harrison, current chair of the airport working party.

So the guy who fouled up the drawing up of the original section 106 agreement, is now in charge of drawing up the next one, as well as running all council meetings in relation to discussions on night flights.

Two things to remember when you get to vote in June - Conservative Kent County Council want the airport to be managed without the current restrictions set out by its statutory oversight body; Labour Councillor Mike Harrison ballsed up a legal agreement 10 years ago which is causing misery across East Kent, and is being given an opportunity of repeating the error.

We are in such good hands.

Goodnight.

NOTE: The Airport Consultative Committee has its annual public at the airport on Friday 26th June at 7pm. Put that in your diaries, as apparently Paul Carter of KCC is coming. We should give him a warm welcome.

Noise Action Week

2009-05-18T18:37:00.004+01:00

Its seems Thanet district Council have gotten the wrong end of the stick.......again.

Whilst Councils up and down the country are working hard to reduce noise in their locality, TDC are hell bent on allowing planes to fly through the night at Manston.

Click here to look at the Environmental Protection website and find out about Noise Action Week

Noise Action Week, a Government sponsored body, are promoting the week 18th to 22nd May as a "perfect opportunity to....Encourage local authorities and mediation services to inform the public of services available" and "Educate and inform noise makers and noise sufferers about noise reduction".

Compare that with the agenda at the meeting tomorrow, to be held at the Airport, which talks about "The social and economic advantages of enabling some night-time flying; creation of jobs etc" and "The actual hours during which shoulder-periods etc. might be considered acceptable".

(NOTE TO BRIAN WHITE - AS POINTED OUT TO YOU AT THE EXTRAORDINARY COUNCIL MEETING, BY THE COUNCILS OWN DEFINITIONS, WHEN YOU REFER TO SHOULDER PERIODS YOU ARE ACTUALLY TALKING ABOUT NIGHT TIME PERIODS - BE CLEAR)

If you think our council are spending your time and money on a pointless Airport that has failed for 10 years and continues to fail right to this very day, make sure you get to the Airport Departure lounge tomorrow at 7pm to make some, er, noise about it.

Night Flights Meeting - its public

2009-05-13T09:25:00.002+01:00

Cllr Mike Harrison has kindly confirmed the meeting to be held at Manston (after a donation from the public purse) on Tuesday at 7pm will be open to the public.

to remind you of events leading up to this;

Infratil buy Manston in 2005, on the cheap, after the previous owners could only half fill planes by giving seats away.

Infratil say they will lose money for 4-5 years, then start making a profit

Infratil after making losses for 4 years decide enough is enough

Infratil go cap in hand to the council, saying its all their fault for restricting night flights and charging the tin-pot carriers who use the airport thousands of pounds (but never collecting) if they land after 2300, putting Manston at a 'disadvantage' with other airports.

Thanet District Council ask Infratil how high they should jump.

Meeting called, at public expense on 19th May, 7pm, Manston Airport, to rubber stamp, sorry discuss when they are going to rubber stamp the request.

If you have any interest in quality of life, public resources being wasted (a hot topic) on personal vanity (Sandy Ezekil, Paul Carter, Brian White etc etc), then this meeting will interest you.

Thanet District Council - spending money on manston to force night flights through

2009-05-11T22:14:00.005+01:00

Even though the "unsustainable" business continues to limp on with hardly any daytime flights, Thanet Council, namely Brian White (salary circa £120,000) continue to support night time flights at Manston.

The Airport 'Working' Party (the only thing about the airport that is working)minutes from a couple of weeks ago have been published (click here to read them) and what an interesting read they make.

Brian seems hell bent on pushing this through, and is using Stansted Airport's night time policy as a blueprint. Brian seems to have missed the point that an airport in the middle of a rural area that does not fly over any urban area is not exactly the example he should be following. City, which operates night flight CURFEWS (ie, none), is where he should be looking for inspiration.

Also published is an agenda for a meeting to be held at the airport next Tuesday, with the KIACC being presented with the proposal for night flights. Click here to read it. I also see that TDC , ie, us , is paying for the pleasure of the meeting being held at Manston. What is wrong with the public offices we pay for? Surely, in this time of austerity and with public officials under scrutiny more than ever before, even one more brass farthing thrown down the airport toilet is an insult to us taxpayers.

I've asked Mike Harrison, Chairman of the Airport 'Working' Party if its public. I'm sure those of you who live on the flightpath, or those affected by aircraft noise, would be very interested to hear what Thanet Council are planning in our names. Mike, it would be great if you could respond, as I'd love to see you next Tuesday.

Anyone else feel like attending?

Thanet District Council, Kent County Council - Supporters of a dying business

2009-05-06T22:07:00.003+01:00

22nd April - Infratil, Manston owners, meet the council Airport 'Working' Party and beg for night flights, citing, 2-4 years to recovery from the current airport quagmire, unsustainable business levels, potential 82 job losses

23rd April - Council press release agreeing in principle to the aspiration in the airport masterplan, citing 500,000 passengers next year, 1,268,000 the year after.

15th January - Paul Carter, Kent County council leader; 'Kent International Airport could handle six million passenger movements a year which would boost the local economy in an area of high deprivation. When high speed domestic rail services between Ramsgate and London start at the end of the year it will dramatically reduce travel times to and from the capital, making KIA airport an attractive option.'

1st April - Manston confirm 11,500 passengers for the last financial year, after 10 years of operation. South Eastern Railways continue to publish a map showing all stations on its network, a key showing interchanges with airports - but fails to put an interchange marker anywhere near Manston. A mistake, or a reflection of reality?

Manston, Council Tax, Elections

2009-05-05T18:54:00.004+01:00

Click here to got to the presentation and agenda for the council Airport Working Party

For those who live on the flightpath or those who get disturbed by passing planes, when paying your council tax for 2009/2010 remember that many council representitives, specifically Brian White, Mike Harrison and Sandy Ezekiel, support night time flying at Manston.

It may also be worth reminding any doorstep election campaigners of the same fact - why are we paying a council to support a drop in the quality of our lives? I'd suggest any campaigner against airport expansion might win some easy votes.

Matt Clarke says the "current restrictions at Manston" create an "impediment to establishing based aircraft services". I'd suggest he should look at his own business plan before criticising our supine council who have a special Manston "YES" rubber stamp for any requests from him.

Manston has failed for the last 10 years because its catchment area happens to be the same as Heathrow, Stansted, Gatwick and City, not because it can't allow flights at night - because it does it already.

It would be good if Matt could furnish us with some dates when Manston will possibly close, or when his often repeated "unsustainable" period lapses.

It would also be interesting to hear comment from our council on what they would support in place of the Airport? As we can see from the hole left by Pleasurama, museums, tactical fixes (or strategic ones?) seem beyond them.

"Without an increase in traffic, Manston will close....."

2009-04-29T19:43:00.006+01:00

Matt Clarke, while on his knees, begging for the ability to fly at night from Manston, 22nd April 2009.

At an airport working party meeting ie, the council's Matt Clarke Supporters club, chaired by TDC's Director of Regeneration Brian "Ankles" White (you can work out the nickname), Matt Clarke was invited along to discuss the desperate need for a NIGHT TIME FLYING POLICY for Manston.

According to the minutes, "Ankles" introduced Matt with a poorly put together ( starting sentences with 'And', even finishing sentences with 'and')summary on why a policy is necessary. The highlights include;

A generic night time policy would allow the public to make their views known

Fines should not be levied if a late aircraft is bringing back passengers 'home to Thanet'

Improved noise monitoring

Revisiting the current criteria set in the current 106 (with defunct owners planestation?) about noisy planes, and the fact modern aircraft are capable of quieter performance

Matt Clarkes much slicker presentation (he has little else to do) has such gems as;

At current levels, Manston is loss making

Without an increase in traffic, Manston will close, taking with it 85 direct jobs

Current restrictions at Manston represent a significant impediment to establishing based aircraft services

Night Flying is a requirement of hosting scheduled traffic

Is this the same Matt Clarke who only 6 months ago was talking about 6,000,000 passengers, parkway stations, Manston rivalling Stansted, 3,000 employees and flights everywhere within a few years?

Somehow I don't think things have fallen so far in such a short space of time. Manston has never been a success through its 10 years of private operation. Its supported as a regional airport by the government, but ridiculously lauded as London's 4th airport by our idiotic councils, even though London has 5 of notable size already.

I feel desperately sorry for the people working there. I feel equally sorry for those in the car industry, finance, Woolies - any business having trouble at the moment. I do not feel sorry for the airport owners, their executives, nor the council. They have backed this three legged donkey for far too long.

I asked Brian White at the Manston Consultative Committee in December '08 if they had a plan B. In April 2009, they have showed us what it is - Night Flights at an airport that doesn't have any day flights.

click here to view the Matt Clarke presentation and "Ankles" summary

Air news round up

2009-04-27T20:44:00.005+01:00

Infrastil email update from earlier today.

"Infratil has recently undertaken a number of divestments which will result in the receipt of $127 million.

These transactions were the $40 million sale of Fullers Ferries which has already settled, the $23 million sale of three bus depots which is to settle in May and June, and Infratil's right to sell its 90% shareholding in Lübeck Airport back to Lübeck City for settlement in October for approximately $64 million."

No room for the sale of Manston within that NZ$127 million , unless of course they give it away for nothing to stop the haemorraging of £4mm each year it reportedly costs them.

"Kent International handled 2,914 tonnes of freight in March, up 16% against February but down 19% against the March 2008.
For the year, freight was 22,987 tonnes down 29% on the previous 12 months mainly due to the loss of traffic associated with the administration of MK Airlines".

I thought MK was out of administration, and had decided there were better places to take their business? Anyway, pretty dire figures under any circumstances, and no mention of passengers? Oh yes, there weren't any.

Further down the press release -

"Lubeck Airport handled 43,363 passengers in March, up 27% on February's performance and 2% higher than March 2008.

The result continues the airport's strong start to the calendar year with encouraging loads on services to London, Milan, Pisa and Gdansk have been very encouraging. According to the German Airports Association Lubeck is one of only two German airports to be experiencing growth. New services to Palma, Alghero and Alicante indicate a positive outlook for 2009 passenger traffic.

For the year Lubeck had 534,035 passengers, down 6% on the previous 12 months."

And they are looking to offload Lubeck back to the City council at the first opportunity, yet its gown year on year. I would imagine that in a toss up between Manston and Lubeck, they would prefer to keep the German. However, having bought Manston in a fire-sale, they don't have a get out of jail free option, so are lumbered with £4 million worth of pointless upkeep every year. If you think thats our point of view, check out Infratils Tim Brown a few weeks ago;

"...it was hard to run with a loss on a low-return asset in the current environment.
said it was hard to run with a loss on a low-return asset in the current environment.

Around 75 per cent of Infratil's investments..... were performing well, Brown said.

You have to say to yourself, can you have 25 per cent of the business not generating a return? In this type of environment you can't."

Ouch.

It doesn't quite look as though there is much good news on the horizon either, with swine flu slowing global air travel.

Air Passenger Duty has shot up in the recent budget, adding £170 to a premium economy flight for example.

Boeing gained 28 orders for new aircraft, but lost 32 ones.

BA Boss Willie Walsh said today he didn't expect a recovery until 2011.

But it shouldn't effect Manston - according to their Masterplan (published only 6 monthe ago), they will be flying 1,300,000 passengers by then.........

Infratil - serious about their environmental impact at Manston?

2009-04-22T22:59:00.006+01:00

Can anyone answer if refuelling takes place on the Echo taxiway and the Echo apron at Manston? If it doesn't occurr, when did it stop, and was that halt due to the Environment Agency pointing out the error of Infratil's ways?

Has the Class 1 interceptor tank been installed, or scheduled for installation? Again, the environment agency has highlighted this as a priority due to the runway run-off protection it will give to Pegwell Bay,

In regards to the single skinned bulk fuel installation, has there been any movement towards improving this situation, as outlined again by the environment agency?

All this costs money, and as we know from Infratil themselves "...costs have been reduced to reflect lower traffic".

Does this "cost reduction" mean parking environmental concerns raised by a government agency? At what potential danger to Thanets natural environment?

Does this cost reduction mean that other, un-important operational costs such as Maxim PR are being sidelined as well?

Not on the buses

2009-04-20T22:11:00.008+01:00

Infratil have shed another business, part of an alleged NZ$ 125-150mm asset divestment plan to raise capital to reduce company debt.

According to TVNZ, Infrastil are now NZ$ 63mm into their plan after a bus business in Kiwi-land was binned this week for NZ$23mm after some ferries were offloaded last week for a cool NZ$40mm.

To get to the low end of their target, they have an option to sell Lubeck Airport in Germany back to the local council for a further NZ$ 60mm in October. Click here to read about that.

Tim "Emett" Brown, Infrastil Exec, says the company is selling off "low growth assets" in a bid to pay of company debt. It seems those assets "...with a long payback period.....are no longer attractive as they once were".

"This market isn't willing to wait as long as it was, so we've got to make sure we position our investments into spaces which have got growth as well as earnings, and that's going to mean some assets are going to have to go," says Brown.

Click here to view the full story, and a picture of the Doc, sorry. Tim. Great scott!.

Long payback period? Low growth (how about negative growth)? Sounds familiar.....

Infrastil Update regarding Manston

2009-04-20T09:35:00.004+01:00

Published Friday 17th April;

"Kent's freight activities have been impacted by the economic downturn and operations and costs have been reduced to reflect lower traffic."

Any ideas what that means in real terms?

Ramsgate and Manston

2009-04-19T21:57:00.002+01:00

I see the same 747 took off and landed over Ramsgate today, two of three total heavy movements I counted this weekend (wow!).

Seeing as the airport has "promised" to fly in from the other side whenever possible, and Manstons own weather monitor shows that a landing from/take off to the west was possible, this option was not taken.

Not wanting either runway used, I will be writing to Brian White, Steve Ladyman tomorrow asking them to look into this. Having been ignored on my last complaint to the airport operators, I won't bother with them anymore.

On another note, met two potential migrant families to Ramsgate this weekend. Neither could beleive the councils support and general public apathy in regards to Manston. One comment of note; "...don't people around here wonder why residents around Heathrow, Stansted campaign against them? A busy airport will ruin this town".

With three flights this weekend ( I apologise if there was one or two more), its hard for people to get motivated to do something, but Infratils maximum profit comes from flights ever few minutes, 24 hours day, 365 a year. They will try everything to get as close to this number as they possibly can.

Although it highly unliklely they will get anywhere near even their own Masterplan numbers, the fact it might happen will keep migrants like the ones I met today away. It will keep investment out of the town centre. It will keep tourists from visiting. A busy airport means big problems for Ramsgate. The sooner our tired old council realise that, the better for us all.

Air news round-up

2009-04-16T21:59:00.005+01:00

Overweight passengers are likely to get taxed by the pound if Michael O'Ryanair gets his way in his latest idea for squeezing as much out of his cheap flights as possible.

Click here to read the story in the Times

Passenger traffic is massively down across the UK year on year. Gatwick took the heaviest drop, with passengers down 17.7% in March 2009 v 2008. Heathrow dropped 7.5% with an overall BAA drop of 11.3%. Across the whole of the airport owner world, a drop of 20% year on year.

Click here to read another story in the Times

And finally, a pilot landed at the wrong airport in Georgia. Intended destination was the main passenger airport in Tiblisi, but the pilot missed it by a whisker and landed at the military airbase a mere 17km away.

Click here to read more

Steady yourselves - 14th April - a special day.........

2009-04-13T12:22:00.014+01:00

Why?

The first passenger flight from Manston of 2009 that you or I could purchase a ticket for takes off. Newmarket Holidays are flying to Malta on the first of Newmarkets flights this year, other destinations being Austria, Italy and Croatia.

While every other airport in the country has been packed to the rafters with two million Brits flying out over the weekend, Manston had to deal with a few heavy freighters ind and out over Easter.

Now Manston is set to burst into passenger life tomorrow, don't expect the roads to be blocked, trains bursting at the seams and 'the Loop' driving straight past you. Judging by the fact tickets prices have dropped over 50% since January for holidays on this flight, and are still on sale now, even this solitary passenger plane will not be full.

Good luck to Newmarket in the these dreary times. However, if only a handful of flights look like they are going to struggle to sell from Manston, its not the greatest advert to entice other operators to East Kent.

Bob Quick resigns less than 24 hours after blunder

2009-04-09T08:22:00.002+01:00

Sandy Ezekiel, Jacqui Smith, take note

TDC Cabinet Meeting 9th April 7pm

2009-04-08T17:26:00.004+01:00

Has anyone read agenda point 6?

The 'TDC response to the Masterplan' is the title, but it has a couple of interesting 'additional documents' that include;

1) the Kent News/KIA/Kent Escapes (passed away 2008) online survey on Manston services

2) Snippets of written responses from members of the public, concerned groups etc to the Masterplan

The online survey was a marketing tool by KIA/Kent Escapes - nothing to do with Thanet District Council. Why is this being reviewed at a council meeting? It has no authority, meaning, individuals could and probably have responded mutliple times. Outside influence maybe?

The written responses to the Masterplan do not include responses made by myself or others I know who responded by email. If email was a suggested way to respond, why are they not included on here? It has only been 4 months, after all, surely enough time to copy/paste? Outside influence maybe?

An absolute joke by the council cabinet to have such a half-arsed meeting agenda point. It will be interesting to see what they (and the standards board) make of these two pieces of pointless documentation.

The Return of Are Infratil still serious about Manston......

2009-04-04T21:37:00.004+01:00

This is really embarrasing. Four times I've pointed out problems on this multi-national companies website, and still they persist.

It may seem petty, but the point is deadly serious. This operator has aspirations to fly six million passengers over our heads, 500,000 tonnes of freight, but their portal to the world is poorly maintained, poor links, old information - you name it, its got it wrong.

Maybe some of that money spent on PR should have been on a Web Designer.

Does this poor level of maintenance find its way to other aspects of their operation? Answers on a postcard please.

April Fools Day 2009

2009-04-01T18:43:00.005+01:00

Interesting day today for Infrastil. Not only is their share price at its lowest for year, but its also the first day they get to run their eye over the last financial years totals. Manston's must make interesting reading.

Where MK and Kent Escapes have gone under taking a fair bit of business with them, the air industry as a whole has taken a massive turn for the worse. Airlines went bust on a weekly basis, passenger numbers dropping by double digits, Sterling dropping against every other currency, fuel yo-yoing from massive peaks to deep troughs - the last year has had it all.

Manston continues along, with no passenger flights that you or I could purchase for the last 4 months, less passenger services this year than last year (28 return flights advertised), freight apparently "busier than ever" but 30% down on last year - not good reading at all.

So when the Kiwi bean-counters start going through the investment they have made over the past 3.5 years, which, inclusive of purchase price and annual operating losses must be over £30,000,000 now, they must be asking themselves if this pigs ear is ever going to turn out to be a silk purse.

Now we are in the middle of steep decline in everything air industry (expect mothballing planes), how long before Manston can pull itself out of it, if at all?

Still, it seems 2009/2010 has started with a bang for Manston. I have it on good authority a Monarch plane was training over East Kent today, earning, ooh, tens of pounds for the airport while only annoying thousands and dumping kilos of co2 over the countryside.

Paul Carter, Roger Gale, Laura Sandys, Steve Ladyman, Sandy Ezekiel - think about what little this airport has brought to the area in 10 years, and what it will continue to keep away - visitors, investment, peace and quiet.

You should start concentrating your efforts on businesses that have brought something to the area, not a folly that has promised much but delivered nothing in the last 10 years.

BA mothballing 747's

2009-03-30T20:11:00.005+01:00

Story in today's Times giving an update on the proposed merger between BA and Iberia - not very much is going on, by all accounts.

There are some interesting snippets in amongst the takeover talk, however.

BA have mothballed a couple of 747's at Cardiff, sealing the doors and covering the engines. The planes, costing over £140,000,000 each are sat idle allegedly waiting for passenger numbers to pick up.

It continues with news that aircraft graveyards, where out of work planes go for a 'rest' until business picks up, are booming at the moment.Business is up 25% so far this year, with another 25% expected by the summer. The International Bureau of Aviation consultancy firm estaimates that 1,800 narrow body jets and 500 widebodies have gone on extended holiday in the last year.

Thanet seems the perfect places for aircraft 'boneyards', as they are located in dry areas where the weather will not eat the airframe. With the Isle's micro-climate bringing business like Thanet Earth here, have we stumbled across a possible solution to an underused Manston?

Click here to read all about it in the Times

Are Infra-stil serious about Manston rides again......

2009-03-27T02:31:00.004Z

Rather ironically, if you click on the "planned routes" link on Manstons website, it brings up a blank page.

I suspect there will be one job on offer at Manston very soon........

click on "planned routes" to try it out

Airports are ripping off passengers

2009-03-26T19:40:00.003Z

Not Manston of course, as it doesn't have any, but a look into the future (about 3 years time according to Matt Clarkes 'Jim'll Fix It' Masterplan) of what could be one day.

It seems dastardly airport operators at Luton are following Leeds, Liverpool and Bristol and charging customer to jump the queue for security by paying a levy. Rather than open up all security scanners or employ more security staff, they've decided its much more fun to allow everyone to stand in line as per norm and let the 'rich' queue-jump. Could airport operators sink any lower in their utter contempt for the passengers who use them?

I'm sure the airport supporters who can't leave this site alone will respond with "no queues at Manston blah blah", but thats because they have no passengers, and also because they haven't thought of it yet. Rest assured 'Infrastil' will be looking at every angle to make money out of Manston IF it ever, ahem, gets off the ground.

click here to read about it

click here to read about 20 reasons why you wouldn't fly with Ryanair

Reason #21 - they don't fly, nor ever will fly from Manston.

Airline Industry in "intensive care"

2009-03-25T22:25:00.003Z

Everyday, more bad news in the FT. After yesterdays bombshell that 'Infrastils' Prestwick was 'suffering the most' in bonnie Scotland, today's headline talks from a global perspective from the Air Industry Trade Association (IATA). It advises horrific numbers such as;

Passenger traffic set to fall 5.7% this year, with cargo demand dropping by 13%

Revenues dropping by $62,000,000,000, or 12% of total revenues. in comparison after September 11, revenues dropped "only" 7%.

Premium passengers, the cash-cows of the industry as a whole, fell 17% year on year.

All doom and gloom, with no positive language at all; 'weak consumer and business confidence', 'demand for air transport low' and the telling "expecting a significant recovery in 2010 would require more optimism than realism". Oh dear.

The final comment thats worth a mention (remember this comes from the IATA themselves) - "the fragmented airline industry was 'structurally sick' with a historical net profit margin of only 0.3%".

How can KCC and TCC continue to support Manston as a realistic growth opportunity for the area? 10 years of private ownership, 5 years of massive growth across other airports the UK but Manston still failed. Is it ever likely to succeed?

click here to read it in the FT

Cargolux pilots on the grass in Holland

2009-03-25T22:17:00.005Z

Super-dooper-cargo-airline-who-can-put-no-foot-wrong Cargolux scuffed the grass at Maastricht airport when they ploughed off the runway last week after misjudging a corner - at least thats what I think it says. Read all about it, in Dutch, here

Tokyo cargo plane veers off runway and crashes

2009-03-23T07:12:00.004Z

Click here to read the story on BBC.

Could this happen at Manston? What would be the damage to the water supply?

Air news round-up

2009-03-19T21:55:00.003Z

Lots of bad news about for Infratil/Manston and the air industry in general this week. A couple of news items from today;

BAA break-up.

The London monopoly held by BAA on Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted looks over as the competition commission has ruled on at least two of them being sold. The expected outcome should be cheaper landing slots, investment in infrastructure resulting in shorter check in times, better amenities for those using it. Couple this with the new found capacity at all three (reduction in passenger numbers, runway at Heathrow, more flights allowed at Stansted) that the necessity for a 6th London airport (City or Luton anyone?) looks further and further away. Not a great day for Infratil in the UK at all, as BAA has been forced to sell one of Edinburgh or Glasgow, increasing competition against Prestwick and an inevitable price war on landing slots.

Click here to read about BAA

Asia Airlines "at tipping point"

Airlines in the Asia-Pacific region are at a “tipping point”. They are only weeks away from grounding as much as 10 per cent of their aircraft as they grapple with weak revenues, falling load factors and excess capacity.

Click here to read about it in the FT

Not very nice to be in this industry at present. "Around" 100 employed by Infratil at Manston? 97 vacancies at KCC. Its never too late to change your mind Messrs Carter and Clarke. Thre is always a way out.

Holidays at home

2009-03-19T21:39:00.005Z

A kick in the nuts for TDC and a poke in the eye for Manston from the FT today.

Holidaybreak, a successful camping holiday company who last offered tented breaks in the UK 15 years ago, are starting up in Scotland, the Lake District and the south west this year, trying to get the weekend business usually taken by weekends to wherever on Ryanjet.

Carl Michel, chief executive, says "We think the UK consumer will be UK-based this year. People are being driven by value and £155 for a weekend in the school summer holidays is good value."

"We should not forget that we have had two wet and windy summers and there is no guarantee the next one won't be as well. For their main holiday people will go where they want and where they know the sun will shine. They might have one week instead of two," he said.

People would swap long weekends abroad for breaks within driving distance, he predicted.

Brilliant. So our supine council have spent at least the last decade deciding tourism is not he way to go for Thanet. One Ramsgate Central Harbour councillor even told me "the days of Ramsgate being a seaside town are over". And here we are, a successful European holiday firm coming back to the UK.

Still, Mr Michel left with us with a spring in our step. The parting words in his interview?

"What is ludicrously expensive is to fly to some city you don't quite know how to pronounce for the weekend just because Ryanair has a flight there."

Click here to read the story

The unopened email that cost £3,000,000

2009-03-18T19:48:00.008Z

Things seems to be coming to a head in relation to local council money locked in at failed Icelandic banks. Contrary to KCC's patronising (in the first sentence!)and extremely bullish bravado on the excellent Kent TV in October, it seems they are likely to get less than 10p on the pound on their money - a maximum of £4,500,000. Not an amount to be sniffed at, but this is not a great return on £50,000,000, and its our money.

The BBC have singled out KCC for some special treatment today. They talk about the poor controls, citing an individual who paid £3,000,000 to the Icelandic banks despite being warned via email not to. The email remained un-opened, so the warning was received too late to stop monies being paid and almost entirely lost.

Has anyone lost their job over this? Not a soul, although you can't blame the poor soul with the unopened email. Those further up the chain, who should have had proper checks and controls in place for receiving information about failing institutions, should resign. No-one has fallen on their sword despite the reality that over £45,000,000 of our money is likely to be lost forever.

Although the council are quick to heap praise on themselves for getting back-slapped by the Audit Commission for having a 4 star council, is anyone going to bring them to task on failing put in place adequate controls to protect our money? The Government have had every man and his dog in front of the Commons Select Committee. I thinks its about time Carter, Gilroy et al had to explain themselves. An explanation why there are 97 open roles all on great money at KCC as well wouldn't go amiss - surely tey should be cutting back, not spending more?

FYI - if you are wondering why this is on an anti Manston site, this is the same council who spent our hard earned on promoting Virginia flights from Manston which, ahem, never got off the ground. The same council who have supported this white elephant for the past 10 years, and continue to waste council time and effort promoting it. I think its time they started concentrating on the basic services like gritting roads and managing the monies we entrust them with, not supporting failing airports.

The government response to air industry problems - more tax

2009-03-17T22:52:00.003Z

The Environment Audit Committee has suggested to the Treasury to tax short and long haul flights to "discourage the burning of fossil fuels and encourage the growth of low carbon alternatives". The report says;

"Air passenger duty to better reflect the emissions from longer intercontinental journeys is welcome but the amounts levied appear inadequate to influence people's decision to fly and should be increased."

Tim Yeo, Chairman of the Committee, said air passengers are not currently taxed enough to reflect the environmental impact.

"We do need to reduce emissions from aviation and we believe higher rates of tax on long haul and higher rates on domestic flights are an essential part of the better reflecting the actual emissions in the price of the travel," he said.

Not the news an industry on its knees both in Thanet and across the globe is going to want to hear. Has the industry been complacent during the good times? Or are the Government just taxing anything that moves?

Click here to read the story

The great British weekend: Ramsgate

2009-03-16T14:04:00.005Z

A poster has pointed me in the direction of some positive PR in the Times this weekend.

Under the exciting title "The great British weekend: Ramsgate", it goes on to sing the praises of 900 listed buildings, Pugins house, Ramsgate sands and the Royal Harbour amongst many other things.

The excellent Age and Sons and the Royal Harbour hotel are mentioned as places to eat and stay.

Unsuprisingly, Ramsgates proximity to Manston airport is not mentioned. The author must have visited on one of the many days when nothing flys over. How different this piece would have been if they had visited on a day where thirty 747 training flights had gone over the town at less than 1,000 feet.

Click here to read the story in the Times

Fall in passengers marks end of air travel boom

2009-03-16T12:23:00.004Z

Shamelessly copied from a Guardian story of the same name! Some highlights;

Passengers coming through British airports have fallen for the first time since 1991.

CAA expects the slump to last through 2010

One leading industry commentator warned that the airline industry still operated too many aeroplanes

The industry's worldwide profit margin was only 1% in its boom year, 2007

If Manston is still around at the end of this recession, what will it bring? Jobs? Maybe. Noise? Definitely. Pollution? Yes. Sustainable future? No. Stable business to base our local economy on? No. Investment to the area outside of airport related businesses? No.

There is too much uncertainty to back the airport to the hilt. Steve Ladyman is questioning whether it can ever be successful. Every voter in Thanet should be doing the same.

the joys of Summer - Training flights - photos and film wanted

2009-03-13T16:46:00.006Z

The days are gradually getting longer, its getting warmer and the sun has started to shine - its must be training flight time! Yes, that regular occurrence over East Kent on glorious days when you can't hear the person standing next to you every 8 minutes, as a credit-crunch busting, employment making training flight thunders overhead.

Are there rules on where training flights can fly from Manston? I've seen them over Sandwich, Joss Bay, Broadstairs, Herne Bay and flying up West Cliff road, at right angles to its usual path. (I've got the last one on camera, which has been sent to the CAA for clarification).I've seen 747's banking hard over Ramsgate, and very fast approaches to the runway, well above normal landing speed.

Seeing as this pointless process makes up 40% of non-aero club movements at the airport, it would be interesting to know exactly what benefits it brings to those under its flightpath. I'm sure all those flying experts in the area will be quick to point me in the error of my ways.

Its seems you don't even need flying experience to become a pilot these days anyway. Those frustrated local airport lovers might be interested to know AirAsia are holding an online competition to find a pilot - no experience necessary. Click here to read about it.

If you are out and about, have a video/stills camera with you, please grab a photo/film of any flights repeatedly going overhead and send it to me on stopmanstonexpansiongroup@gmail.com We'd also like to know where it was flying as well, so some indication of its path would be handy.

The above picture is of the aforementioned BA flight taking a shortcut across Ramsgate.

air industry news

2009-03-13T16:23:00.005Z

Stansted get the go-ahead to expand to 35,000,000 passengers per annum, up 10,000,000. Bad news for anti-airport campaigners in Essex, as they feel it opens the way up for a new runway as and when the planning goes in. It also makes a mockery of Matt Clarkes bold letter to the Competition Commission stating that Manston is in competition with Stansted. Lydd is more like Manstons calibre.

Click here to read about it on BBC

Boeing 777's are in danger of falling out of the sky accorning to US air safety body, NTSB. British Airways is under pressure to ground its most profitable 15 aircraft until the fault is resolved. We all remember the amazing escape of a BA landing at Heathrow which the pilots managed an amazing landing where very few had only minor injuries. I do remember at the time a certain local flying Doctor said about safety zones being built for problem like this, rare occurrence etc etc, then last November a Delta Airlines 777 had exactly the same problem in mid-flight. Add this to the recent crash at Schipol, and it makes you feel safe living under a flightpath, doesn't it! The only saving grace we have around Manston is that we don't have brand spanking new flag carrying passenger planes overhead, but ageing freighters registered from Ghana. Thank god for small mercies.

Click here to read about it in the Times

BAWC not coming to Manston

2009-03-11T20:07:00.006Z

Should we really be suprised?

In 2005, BA looked at Manston and decided it had just about enough runway length, but was too far from London for their clients. Couldn't be classed as a London airport. It hasn't gotten any closer in the last 4 years - even Infratils 'golden touch' couldn't fix that problem. Gatwick is their preferred destination should they ever leave Stansted.

Click here to read more on why BAWC wouldn't come to Manston in 2005/9

Matt Clarkes press release though is full of holes - typical PR guff, trying to make a silk purse from a sows ear;

The fact that Kent International was considered alongside Stansted shows how far its reputation in the industry has progressed since Infratil acquired it in 2005 and this bodes well for future business.

Not progressed anywhere at all. BAWC went through the same process in 2005. Manston got rejected then, it got rejected today. Infratil have not made a blind bit of difference.

"We would like to thank Thanet District Council and the local community for their support in our efforts to secure the new business."

The community have never been engaged in debate over the requested expansion of night time flying, nor the "Masterplan". You cannot say the community supports you as you have not asked. The council, however, have a special 'yes' rubber stamp for Manston, always inked and ready to use.

"...the clear recognition in Thanet that growth at the airport will bring with it employment and opportunity to local people."

They have not ever categorically stated how many people are employed by Infratil. "Around 100 in October". " About 150" in January. BAWC were going to create 400 jobs, which our supine council beleived. Jobs will only be created if they get business. No-one is banging the door down.

And finally, my favourite;

"We are committed to attracting further freight operators to the airport and ensuring the successful return of scheduled passenger services to a range of destinations in line with the development proposals outlined in our draft master plan"

Would these be the destinations on your website, taken down this week? The routes that spread out across Europe? The routes which are not running at all, apart from the one that has been running for 20+ years? Is this the same masterplan which says 500,000 passenges will use Manston in 2010? from 12,000 to half a million where passengers are falling at airports that actually have business going through them.

Thanet District Council should take a step back and really ask what is going on. The airport is not attracting the national flag carriers they were all "creaming their jeans" over at the council rail road session. Its got Ghanian 40 year old cow carriers. It takes flights from Ostend, 60 miles away. The council really need to start looking at alternatives, or its another 20 years of being held back for those under the flightpath. This area deserves much, much better.

Freight, passenger traffic down again

2009-03-10T22:24:00.005Z

Continued doom and gloom in the world of airports. BAA reports a 21% drop in traffic year-on-year in Feb for freight, with a 12.5% drop in passenger traffic.

However down on planet Thanet, those in power seem to be seeing things differently. Our beloved councils have sat by and watched as our seaside attractions burn to ashes while every man and his dog is predicting the first boom in holidays in the UK for a generation. Whilst watching Thanet flounder while the rest of the country has prospered, they have also cunningly backed to the hilt an airport above all else. This continues to happen while better equipped, more popular, better served, larger catchment area airports are losing business like KCC loses our money to Icelandic banks.

If KCC/TDC were gamblers at Cheltenham this week, it would be the equivalent of a bookie offering you 100-1 on Kauto Star for the Gold Cup, and they decided to back a seaside donkey to win on the nose at evens. With £50,000,000 of our money.

Anyway, airports.

"look what happened after 2001, things picked up again" the pro-airporters might say. Yes, but it didn't at Manston, did it. "Infratil have only been in charge since 2005". Indeed, but this recession started at the end of 2008. What happened up to then? I didn't see top quality airlines queueing up to fly Londoners across the world- did anyone else?

Now we are in a downturn which will last beyond this year and most of next according to most economists. Infratil predicted 500,000 passengers for 2010. That's looking ambitious at best. Are they really going to ride this out for another two years with no guarantee of any success over any period of time?

Click here to read the story in the Times