Warringtonian - a good post
Philbky - your posts reflect the continued deluded view that Manchester has ever or will ever be a significant hub airport. Yes it has a fair sprinkling of long haul routes. That doesn't make a hub. The trail of tried and failed long haul routes out of MAN grows longer by the year, and will continue to do so regardless of the presence of other airports in the region. Do you honestly believe that if LPL, LBA and BLK had never developed MAN would be a major hub? As I say, deluded.
The likes of EZY, RYR and LS have been great at growing local markets from regional airports. The fact that there are cheap and convenient flights from these airports has created a market that previously didn't exist and would to a great extent disappear should those LO-CO operations disappear. They would not lead to some mythical renaissance at Manchester or Gatwick whereby long haul carriers would establish routes fed by short haul traffic. Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Paris are all way ahead in the pecking order for that.
And any airport built at Burtonwood would not have been 'Manchester' Airport. It would have jointly served the needs of Liverpool and Manchester...