Fuji,
Concur re the parking and fuel, hopefully this will be sorted in the near future, I understand that the airport company are negotiating with an existing operator to take over all the GA Handling.
Fuel is suppled by Air BP, they can't be everywhere at once and until an fixed point avgas refuelling pump is in situ, they'll still have travel all over the airfield to supply fuel to all the operators.
Sky Hawk
Yes, it can seem like a couple of laps of the M25 to get to the RWY27 hold, but we'd rather have the option of lots of taxiways and the ability to utilise them accordingly, without them we'd be well and truely buggered and there would be significant delays for everyone. Don't forget that you can ask to depart from an intermediate holding point (B1), if you want to - we don't have declared distances yet but hopefully will in the near future.
Must take issue with you regarding the money spent.
Yes, the £4m currently being spent on the terminal is to make it a better place for passengers (commercial and pivate) to use, as well as speeding up throughput, which helps the operators.
However, as for the other £squillions spent on a new ILS, taxiway and runway resurfacing, lighting improvements, an almost complete refit of the Tower in late 06, all these benefit EVERYONE, including GA.
We're also providing LARS from 01st April, 0900 - 1730, 7 days a week, another additional benefit for everyone.
House,
We're working very hard to accomodate everyone, but the busier we get with commercial operations the more likely it is that someone will get delayed - especially with instrument training, that's the way of the real world. I, as my colleagues, would be strongly opposed to any suggestion that GA should be prohibited.
By the way, the only low cost route to be chopped was Belfast, the operator wasn't getting the passenger loads to make it viable, so off to the knackers yard it went.
We like to think we're still GA friendly (landing fees are outwith my remit!) and you're all welcome, but sometimes you'll have to take your turn.