Plymouth city airport again

[oldpax]

From todays local newspaper A report issued today claims Plymouth City Airport could reopen.
The National Connectivity Task Force has released a report saying that, if slots into a London airport could be secured, the airport could reopen as a viable transport link to the capital.
The airport was closed in 2011 when leaseholders Sutton Harbour Holdings activated an 'Armageddon clause', convincing the council it was no longer commercially viable.
The council has said it will support reopening if a viable business plan is produced.
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The report released today reads: "If slots into the UK's international hub could be found for Plymouth the mothballing of the airport could be re-considered.
"Plymouth's large cluster of maritime businesses, the university and the Tamar Science Park all have ambitions that would benefit from easier international access."
It added that improved London hub links could be "particularly significant" to the far south west "because of the absence of any realistic prospects of high-speed rail connections into the area".
The National Connectivity Task Force was established to develop proposals for how regional air links to London and the major airports serving London and the South East Region can be improved.

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Read more: Plymouth City Airport could reopen, says report | Plymouth Herald
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in Plymouth.

[ABBOT]

So, the founders of Brymon and Charles Stewart were spot on. Plymouth airports viability was dependant primarily on the Plymouth, St Mawgan to Heatrow twice a day service and Secondarily on the Plymouth, Exeter to Gatwick twice a day service. It has slipped my mind, who was it who gave up the LHR and Gatwick slots?

[yeo valley]

plymouth airport

it was sutton harbour holdings that ran the services through their airline air southwest.
out of intereast has anything been done with the airport since it shut.as i understand it was closed to all traffic, so has anybody been looking after it or has it just been left till such time its not viable to get it back into use.
in the report it states it could be mothballed. so it seems like nothing has been done.

[Skipness One Echo]

It has slipped my mind, who was it who gave up the LHR and Gatwick slots?

It was British Airways who as a commercial enterprise were utterly astonished to discover that using LHR slots to pootle DHC7/8s to the West Country was not extracting a good value from a slot pair.

[ABBOT]

The Mayor of Plymouth was very pro Airport. Is his voice still being heard in support of the campaign?

[crackling jet]

Yes, bring back the PLY/BRS/MAN and any PLY/BRS/Anywhere route, surely the Brs stop; would add pax on the PLY route with the BRS stop adding pax and justifying the route.

[GROUNDHOG]

Dan Air are basing an HS748 there so I am told......

[LNIDA]

These small airports should be excluded from APD, I would add Teesside, Humberside, Carlisle,Doncaster & Exeter, they serve sizeable local communities and would reduce road traffic and improve business links, CWL & PIK are a matter for their respective devolved assembly's although the business case for PIK is IMHO with GLA up the road flawed to say the least.

Although Exeter & Plymouth are close-ish the problem is with Exeter being on the East side of Exeter and road down to Plymouth is a bit of a night mare in Summer with traffic and although the road is mostly dual carriage it doesn't feel safe especially at night

[SWBKCB]

wouldn't that be unfair competition for those airports up the road and on the next rung in terms of pax numbers e.g. NCL, LBA, EMA, EXT, NQY?

[oldpax]

Accessability

The problem is that Plymouth is equidistant from Exeter and Newquay which means a journey of about 44 miles to either of the other airports .I used Plymouth from 76 until about 2005 and never saw an empty seat!!Always wondered who owned Air South West and that explains a lot.So Sutton harbour shareholders stand to make a lot from developers and Plymouth would lose a beneficial amenity.

[Skipness One Echo]

There's no point in looking to what worked in the 1970s to plan for 21st century airport accessibility. The only way this would work would be like this :
Viking Sells Series 400 Twin Otters to Scotland | Viking Air

A taxpayer funded and PSO operated and subsidised operator to fly from regional airports into an expanded LHR to make sure the wealth and opportunity are a little more spread around. There is no way in Hell that it's a commercial proposition, but there's a good argument for trying it as a PSO, assuming LHR gets a third runway.

[Heathrow Harry]

this the Thrid Runawy at LHR that Fair Deal Frank says will not have ring-fenced slots for UK regional flights as that will be a "commercial decision way in the future"???


The "National Connectivity Task Force" was set up by LHR, they also selected the Chairman so it's another PR exercise from the M4 boys

[Fairdealfrank]

this the Thrid Runawy at LHR that Fair Deal Frank says will not have ring-fenced slots for UK regional flights as that will be a "commercial decision way in the future"???

Wrong again, Heathrow Harry, have never said that.

In fact the opposite is the case. It is only WITH a third rwy that the issue even arises, and it's the same for PSOs.

With another rwy, loads of free slots become available to existing carriers as well as new operators.


FYI, wrote the following replying to Cornish Simon about PSOs on the Newquay thread:

"Yes, NQY is on Heathrow Ltd.'s list of potential extra domestic links along with CWL, EXT, HUY, INV, JER and LPL (page 14, "Taking Britain Further), but surprisingly, not IOM.

It’s been raised in Parliament several times and is a sensible idea. Suspect such provisions would be there, and need to be there, as a condition for LHR expansion."

and....

Wrote the following replying to Heathrow Harry’s question about cast-iron guarantees on the Newquay thread:


"Hopefully not like Call-Me-Dave's "cast-iron" guarantee on a referendum on the Lisbon treaty.

As for more JFK, it's unlikely, there’s already hourly flights at the times they’re needed, and in any event extra longhaul flights still need feeders.

What you forget is that with LHR expansion, there will be loads of new free slots available, enough for small operators to/from smaller airports like NQY and for new longhaul to the emerging fast-growing economies in S. America, Asia, Africa, etc.. Many haven’t yet realised that a third rwy is a whole new ball-game.

In the long term road and rail will become even more congested, overcrowded and expensive, and this will give a boost to domestic air services to/from airports like NQY and others. The ability to also feed longhaul will make an expanded LHR the London airport of choice for these."

As you can see, Heathrow Harry, the cast-iron guarantee should not be like Dave's on the Lisbon Treaty, because it was worthless: we never did vote on it.

That is very different from "will not have ring-fenced slots for UK regional flights as that will be a "commercial decision way in the future"???" as you suggest.

Suspect that some slots will be ring fenced for domestic links as a condition in the unlikely event of permission being granted. Some of these will also be on a PSO arrangement.

Pure speculation of course, based on balance of probabilities. Truth is, no one knows.

Hope this helps.

PS if ringfenced slots on a third rwy and/or a PSO gets PLH opened up again, bring it on. But don't hold your breath.

[trafficnotsighted]

Getting back on topic guys. Plymouth airport atc equipment and nav aids were just shut down on the closure. It is my understanding that the tower equipment has been vandalised. As the largest city in the uk without its own airport you would think the City council would jump at the chance to reopen it or at leasrt encourage private investors to do so. No the reverse they are one of the loudest voices saying it should not reopen.
oh well Plymouth city
council keep feeling sorry for yourselves and complaining that all large business investment keeps going to exeter. Invest in plymouth as it has good rail links , oh no it gets washed away. You reap what sew.

[WOWBOY]

With the new study. I have faith that the airport will reopen, righting the wrongs of the past. It's very much an important asset for thr future.

[SWBKCB]

By the new study, do you mean that from the National Connectivity Task Force?

If so, good luck...

[WOWBOY]

No the government study annouced in the budget.

[Fairdealfrank]

As the largest city in the uk without its own airport

.....don't forget Hull and Stoke, both are a similar size to Plymouth.

Getting back on topic guys.

It is on topic. PLH gets a mention in the National Connectivity Task Force report as a potential airport to have links to/from LHR if a third rwy is built. Had it not done so, it is unlikely that this thread would have been started.

The topics of ring-fencing slots for this purpose, PSOs, etc., are raised in it.

Heathrow Harry's misquoting of me also has a bearing on this.

[Martin the Martian]

So, are we pinning our hopes for Plymouth to re-open on when Heathrow's third runway opens? If so, the infrastructure at Plymouth will have crumbled into dust by the time that finally happens.

[01475]

What is this National Connectivity Task Force? Is it a Heathrow Airport think tank? Apparently Heathrow is DTVs potential saviour too. I'm just waiting for the Sheffield City thread to pop up again too...

Edit... just read that it is. Definitely expecting to see the Sheffield thread pop up again.