If you had known SEN as long as I have, nothing would surprise you. Not even the lease on a bar standing in the way of the airport entering the 21st century.
I see from the NOTAMS that WIP is taking place all this week at the SW end of 24, with reduced declared distances of 240m for the duration.
Anyone know what this work entails?
Also, Flybe will not be launching "major operations" at SEN until the proposed changes to the runway produce increased declared distances - presumably to allow operation of the E195. However, they may increase their SEN presence slightly next year.
No and why would anyone want to fly there anyway. SEN is its usual sleepy self though there has been an increase in Netjets movements. Rumours of a business jet hangar and / or Fords taking a hangar seem to be nothing more than that.
Glad to see that the poor summer weather has done nothing to dull your pessimism.
The French view of a Le Touquet-Southend route is that it will provide access to London, which they apparently feel the existing Lydd and Shoreham/Brighton services do not, and will be especially useful for the 2012 Olympics.
There is definite substance in these reports and I only hope that something larger than a Chieftain can be anticipated to give the route some credibility and flexibility.
As far as your scepticism on the 'business jet hangar' is concerned are you aware that an RAL ad. appeared in Flight last week asking for proposals from existing FBOs to set up a base at SEN?
A company called Flywatch is behind the proposed services to Le Touquet, Calais, Ostend and possibly Paris, due to start from SEN next year. Maybe not quite what was hoped for, but I guess it's a start.
Shades of the past here- routes have been operated by BAF/BUAF/Channel Air Bridge in the days of car ferries. Can't believe they'de be real runners today.
Can't see why SEN-DUB,EDI,GLA,BCN wouldn't work; isn't SEN quite like SOU
HZ123 as optimistic as ever.
Cross rail now been given the go ahead. Yep its 10 years in the making. But it represents another potential boost for SEN surely.
If, or should we say when the new station is built on the very same line that connects direct to Liverpool Street and to Shenfield. Then connects to Cross rail, which in turn connects to Heathrow and vice versa.
This also represents a potential boost to the Thames Gateway which will benefit as a result from increased demand in housing, and therefore regeneration along the Gateway and potentially more demand for SEN in the future.
I only write this as it has been written on other threads about other aiports in the SE also looking forward, who crave and talk about plans for a descent infrastucture to and from the airport.
Well a good rail link for the airport is already in the making at Southend. A better rail link across the London is also in the making.
I can't honestly believe that a whisper like that hasn't reached the Manston thread!!!!!
It can't be B52's bar. Too far for their regulars to drive! Mcdonalds and Carpet Right aren't part of the airport.
On a brighter note were it to be ATC or Flightline then the space for 2000 houses could be provided on the redundant airfield. Let us hope it is not the former as that would be dire.
Sorry to disappoint you HZ123, but if you read the mins of the consultative committee on the official website, ATC Lasham recently signed a 10 year lease on their hangers at SEN. Hardly likely to do that if they were thinking of moving elsewhere.
Can you really imagine Flightline moving from an H24 airfield to one which does not permit (under its existing agreement with Thanet Council) night operations?
All this just goes to show that it only needs someone to give credence (thank you Jes) to some 'whisper' or other - which might or might not even exist - for a gloom-monger to emerge wringing his hands at the possible consequences with barely suppressed glee.
I know this so-called rumour didn't appear on the MSE thread, but it is typical of the unsubstantiated rubbish which appears there. Recently it has been confidently predicted there that Easyjet, Ryanair with 2 based aircraft, and BA Cargo will be the next 'big thing' for MSE. Quite why nobody at MSE seems to bother to dig a little deeper to check-out the veracity of these rumours I don't know. Perhaps because the true situation would be rather more dull.
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