Originally Posted by
stewyb
A quick look at SOU departures board today is showing 44 flights, compare that to BOU x 5, NWI x 5, EXE x 20, CWL x 19, DSA x 5 & NCL x 44. Not bad for an airport that some say should be consigned to a housing estate. Add a LCC with a select choice of routes and you have a thriving regional!
Indeed. In addition I think there were about 10 bizjet movements before lunchtime on top of that, with no doubt more this afternoon. Some people on here have a definite anti-SOU agenda for whatever reason. I suspect their affections lie with BOH as they're spotters there and they're worried about SOU expanding and potentially threatening their favourite airport. If you listen to those people (and let's face it, they're the ones who post on here most often) you'd be forgiven for thinking that SOU is an empty, desolate tumbleweed of an airport when in actual fact you've only got to visit or fly through it to see that it's anything but, even following the recent contraction of its main operator.
Yes, its infrastructure has meant that so far it has missed out on most of the UK-Europe LOCO action, but there is a plan in place to change that and vast sums of money are being invested to futureproof the airport. If you're someone who wants to see SOU do well it's actually a pretty positive time. If you're a BOH spotter with a penchant for trolling their local (perceived) rival, perhaps less so.