Nonsense. All it proves is how misleading statistics can be without any context.
In terms of bald passenger numbers and reduced revenue, the context doesn't matter and my point that Blackpool especially is in trouble is amply demonstrated.
Philbky - you may be a case in point. If Ryanair didn't exisit and you had to rely on the pevious exorbitant fares offered by Aer Lingus from Ireland to the UK, would your visits be quite as frequent?
They would be reduced but the whole point is that too many airports in a small area damage the viability of all of them and, by removing focus, impinge on the growth of services from the most viable.
As for Burtonwood, even if a new airport had been built there and had been managed by the City of Manchester it would have been no more 'Manchester' Airport
It would have been called Manchester Burtonwood under the proposals - a bit like London Heathrow and at a similar distance from the city centre.
And I suggest you 'check you facts' with regards the history of Liverpool - London services. Today 07:43
Please give me factual details of a sustained London service since the demise of British Eagle.
"Sustained" Enduring; Keep going continuously; Unfailing (my reference is the OED)
Manchester has had a sustained London service since 1946 through BEA and BA with other carriers having been on the route for both long and short periods. Liverpool has not had a sustained London service since 1968.