Originally Posted by
roverman
you can't have a cardboard runway
Manchester's got one: Runway 2 is falling to bits already at the starter end cos it's built from talcum powder and meringue nests. The bit that needs rebuilding is the bit where all the taxiways cross each other
on the way to the threshold. Pity they didn't pay cardboard prices for it though...
Thanks for the comments re MA resisting multiple handlers. I bow to your knowledge. I do remember that when the handlers were jostling for the original 3 or 4 handler contracts, some of MA's Board members (who'd never been out of Gtr Manchester before because their whippets would miss them and they'd have no-one else to run their pie shops) went out to exotic places at the expense of one of the prospective handlers, who then went on to mysteriously win one of the contracts despite having no experience of working at MAN. And several Board members were also given genuine Rolex watches. At that time, MA should have implemented equipment licensing to limit apron congestion.
MA doesn't need a second runway for more movements, because it hasn't got enough space for more apron, taxiway or terminals to serve it properly. What they need is bigger a/c per movement (like LGW) and a better spread across the day's peaks and troughs. Then one runway would be sufficient, like LGW.