I appreciate your frustration about the EMA viewing terrace closing down, however the airport neither has the funds from MAG nor the planning permission to build a new terminal, so the airport, especially in light of all the additional passengers flying from EMA, has had to make do best with what they have. Not a weekend goes by when a member of the travelling public will not come up to anybody in a uniform, and I imagine this is particularly annoying for the information desk, asking whether there is somewhere they can take the kids to watch the planes, or wave off Auntie Margaret. The problem is, these people do not bring in the same kind of money that fare paying passengers do, so the space is simply better utilised creating more departure lounge space. I imagine now that car parking prices are what they are, most people wanting a quick coffee or meal off of the M1, just go to the Moto services next door to the airport, people coming into the airport to spend £1.50 on parking and £5 on a sandwich and coffee aren't the prime target customer for the airport, it's people who want to fly. I think closing the viewing terrace has been a bad thing for airport relations with the local community, and is even more surprising given Manchester Airport's good reputation with the aviation enthusiast community. Hopefully the airport will continue investing in the Aeropark however, and I know this, alongside the nature trail around the airport permiter, all attracts not only spotters but the curious general public.
Any news from Ryanair whether we will now be getting flights from Weeze to EMA? Central Germany certainly ought to be on the airport's target.