It appears this thread just goes round in circles. There is an awful lot of people feeling victimised on here! No one has anything against Manston. Some people however, just have differing opinions regarding future operations at the airport.
We can argue all day about how successful EUJet were, but at the end of the day they aren’t in operation any more. I’m sure people from London did fly with the airline. However, as mentioned before in all likelihood this was as due to the dirt cheap prices on offer. Would people from London seriously be tempted if an airline started operations whose prices were not all £1? I really don’t think they would, especially considering the low cost airline hubs located at airports which are much easier to access.
I can’t believe people here are claiming the immediate catchment area is big enough to support flights! C’mon guys, Ramsgate has a population of 40,000 people. The immediate catchment area might be around 200k max but if we go any further than the pull of Gatwick and other airports comes into play. That pop figure is no where near big enough to support an airline, therefore London has to be targeted to attract people. However the location of the airport and lack of infrastructure could be a real problem. Are people seriously suggesting people would come from abroad to visit Ramsgate? I really doubt it! In all truth the airport isn’t even well located for the rest of Kent.
I can’t believe Southampton is being compared to Manston, They are very different! Southampton is located in a much bigger conurbation with the local population totalling probably something like 500k, not to mention its importance as a dock and port.
In truth I don’t claim to know enough about the area. Perhaps a few selected routes may work in turboprop aircraft but whether it is sustainable long term is anyones guess. I do however really doubt whether a serious, long term operation will ever happen. You have to ask yourself would an airline operation work which would see the airport operator make a profit or would it have to be a deal where huge incentives are put on offer to attract an airline? Aviation has boomed massively in the last ten years and Manston was constantly overlooked. What with a possible recession on the way, perhaps Manston has missed the boat, and no matter how much blind optimism people have will change that.