Representation by Martin Jewell
- Date submitted
- 30 September 2018
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
The loss of Manston as a usable aviation site has two significant issues for the area of Kent in which it is located.
- No Lower Airspace Radar Service is detrimental to aviation safety. This is already having an effect, whereby flights are without radar assistance the more east and south they go.
- No usable large runway in the north Kent area increases risk to flights in that area which may have to make en emergency landing. The Manston runway is very long and offers much higher survivability than a field landing.
The Kent area is not well served by flight training establishments (for example, Biggin Hill is becoming less attractive for flight training due to changes in operating conditions) and the opportunity for a flight school at Manston would be lost if it were to be permanently closed for aviation.