Originally Posted by
RW20
I guess River Joint you mean me. I'm all for SOU development,but it's had been many years being talked about and I feel they owners have "missed the boat" by some time.,>if and it's a big if, planning permission is given the extension proposed will not be operational till 2021,by which time with the impending Brexit outcome applied ,the uncertainty,fuel costs, environmental concerns etc will not be conjusive to attracting a major player like Easy for example in setting up a base .Flybe continue to under perform and have a stranglehold on the airport,recent times have shown major disruptions at the airport with planes out of position,due to the very restricted opening times at SOU, something that won't change due to the tight opening hours that have been agreed. This alone would not work with airlines that SOU hope to attract ,I'm afraid the proposed development will not give the airport a lifeline that it urgently needs. Look to Southend to see how it could have been,the future at SOU looks deciding uncertain as time progresses.
Something I don't understand about this sort of criticism is that, despite all the disadvantages that people claim that AGS inflicts on it, 2018 was the second-busiest year in SOU's history at 1.99 million passengers. Why does an airport which was used by nearly 2 million people last year need a 'lifeline' and why does its future look uncertain? I'm quite at a loss...