stewyb
Was merely putting a check mark against potential misinformation. I am all for healthy debate and speculation but TCAS FAN's post are often taken as gospel given his technical knowledge (not his fault). I am sure TCAS FAN is an adult and can handle a bit of opposition which indeed it looks like he has. I think you siding with someone who revels in people's livelihoods being destroyed is a bit much. Lets not turn this thread back into a point scoring exercise for the usual suspects. This thread has been much more positive lately.
The masterplan might be out of date, but in its basic form it still represents how SOU feel the airport could develop going forward. Of course it is all dependent on circumstance but I do not think something obvious like that needs to be pointed out.
As for stand 1, I am pretty sure BE use to park aircraft behind stands 2-5 late at night. I cannot see how the new arrangement will be much of a departure from what already exists. I am pretty sure tugs are sophisticated enough to facilitate such parking arrangements. Not ideal no, but still manageable. People often seem to miss that stand 14 can accommodate larger aircraft as well. I have seen numerous larger aircraft use it and one was parked there for a few days after going tech once.
I am minded to agree with your comments about BA and Wizz/EZY. I think BA will prove to be a runaway success when holidays are finally allowed as the catchment can afford to pay the premium they charge over a low cost operator. Wizz/EZY will almost certainly test the waters with aircraft based elsewhere. The country does seem to be moving towards doing more things locally though, which is good news for regional airports and bad news for the big London airports.
As for the runway extension itself, the following paragraph from the planning statement seems to confirm what its purpose will be:
"7.9. From a usage perspective, the runway extension will be utilised as a turning and starting point for larger or more laden aircraft taking off in a southerly direction. The extension will only be utilised by aircraft taking off and heading south, it will not be used by aircraft landing or taking off to the north. Effectively the additional surface allows those aircraft taking off in a southerly direction to have an extended take-off area by moving the aircraft turning area further north".