Representation by Adrian Clewley
- Date submitted
- 30 September 2018
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I am an ex-glider pilot myself who used to fly at Manston and have a passion for aviation. If the airport was to be re-opened I would have like to have seen passenger flights and not freight (for reasons I'll share further down). However the airport has major challenges as a passenger airport. There is only so far passengers will travel to an airport before it makes more sense to travel from a larger hub. So if you draw a circle around Manston's catchment area it probably stops around Maidstone, after that passengers are likely to prefer Gatwick or Stansted. The other problem is that the about 2/3rds of the catchment area is the English Channel and Europe. Also it has been tried as a passenger airport at least three times, with good backing, and it just hasn't been viable. So I conclude its ability to operate as a passenger airport is not viable.
Looking at freight, my main objections are:
I believe Thanet's future prosperity is maximising its tourist appeal. It's a unique area with sea and beaches on its north, east and south. Adding large (and likely noisy / polluting) jets to the area is not conducive to maximising tourism;
Created jobs will not be high skilled, well paid and I do not believe there will be a lot of them.
Noise will be a major concern for residents in Ramsgate;
It will increase lorry traffic (and pollution) in the local area and on the A299 / M2 trunk roads - which are already heavily congested and bottlenecks for getting to Isle of Thanet;
The operator will have a commercial objective of maximising profit, therefore it is highly likely they will want to push for night flights.
In summary, whilst the project will bring much needed jobs, they will be low in number and won't be high skilled and well paid. These will not outweigh the considerable downsides of running a freight airport.
A further consideration is the desperate need of housing in the South East.