Eurostar could get Brussels rival from Manston
Direct flights could start to Brussels from Kent after Eurostar slashed axed services from Ashford International station to the Belgian capital.
Steven Fitzgerald, chief executive of Infratil Airports, which runs Kent International Airport at Manston, told Kent on Sunday he is in talks with airlines about the idea.
The opening of the £100 million Ebbsfleet International station this week saw Eurostar cut the number of trains from Ashford to Paris and cancel all services to Brussels.
The loss of services at Ashford has come as a blow for the local economy – and led to calls for rival operators to be allowed to use the station.
Mr Fitzgerald said he believed there was demand for direct flights to Brussels from Manston.
“We’re working very hard on getting people to launch scheduled flights to a number of places,” he said.
“We’re being approached and continue to approach a lot of operators on a lot of flights and certainly, the fact Eurostar’s not going to be giving the same level of service from Ashford as it has in the past, is something we’re pointing out to people we talk to.
“Brussels is somewhere that people have got established links to, it’s a good destination anyway and it’s now higher up the list of destinations that we talk to people about.”