virginblue I guess it is because we mere Manx taxpayers look on with ever increasing amazement at the cr*p spoken by the management in their commentary on the monthly figures.
Several years ago they produced a passenger number forecast to justify a huge spend on the terminal building extension. If they were right we should be seeing annual pax numbers over one million by now. Yes we have had the recession, but the numbers weren't growing anything like that forecast before the downturn. They reconstructed the apron area, some of it still the original wartime surface. Then they spent an unbelievable amount of money extending the island to provide "required" runway safety areas. That was the famous "doing nothing is not an option" reason. Yet we still haven't seen Jersey or say London City take similar action, and Jersey has a cliff at one end of their runway. So we taxpayers suspect (possibly wrongly) another con.
Having the right equipment at the airport at the time was the reason given to spend a further £3.5m on resurfacing taxiways, including several which had been withdrawn from use as not needed. Then they built a new control tower for about £6m. It looks nice, and the old one was 70 years old, but we mortals wonder why it had to be so impressive. Then there was the sudden requirement to replace the not that old radar; yes they needed Mode S, and yes, that cost a packet as well. And now they want another £3.5 mil to build a new shed for baggage handling; the scanners (all three of them - why 3) will cost just over half a mil, so what on earth costs the other 3 mil.
There are always good reasons given - some, such a Mode S and enhancements to screening are effectively imposed on them. But their
PR sucks: they don't for example set out a road map of project spend which might forewarn the public, it just pops up in a Government vote. And they write the most amazing drivel to explain away why pax numbers are nowhere near those they promised. And if the numbers are good they are published quickly; if bad then they can come out pretty late.
I agree - we probably do overdo the comments. But we have our reasons.