Interesting Hypothosis DeeDave,
Infratril have bought, invested heavily and got nothing for their money.
Yes, there are one or two regular customers who pop up each week and the possibility remains of engineering organisations being attracted to relocate there by terms and conditions which would never be offered to anyone else anywhere in the UK.
But the facts are that Manston has little hope of any financial return, there isn't a hope in hell of Infratril getting back the money they've put in back and to be honest, the same applies at both Prestwick and Lubeck.
Prestwick was a very large white elephant for a long time, it absorbed an alarming amount of investment each day and still does, perhaps it makes an operating profit but I would wager that the owners never did get the money back which they initially invested and the losses they absorbed to attract and to keep Ryanair operating from there wil be written off.
Admittedly, there's a lot going on at Prestwick, but as one who keeps a track of ongoing events, what goes on today doesn't pay for yesterday.
Lubeck is the German equivilant of Manston, the only difference being that the German authorities have a lot of questions to answer about the "funding" theyve given the airport to develop and operate on a day to day basis, if I were a local tax payer I'd be extremely peeved that so much local revenue has been put into such a hopeless case.
If Manston is indeed the "lame duck" of Infratril's assets, the rest of company doesn't hold up to close scrutiny and I wonder how much longer things can continue.
It's all very well having local supporters having good things to say and being positive, but as a very experienced outsider looking in, it would appear that your lenses are somewhat rose tinted.
Hope I am wrong.