The news today from Liverpool and Teesside is perhaps an indication of the industry waking up to economic reality after a decade of madness. The North of England has been on a circular journey looking for what it always had. An international airport - at Manchester. Lo-cos will remain at Liverpool and Leeds providing direct services on popular holiday and local business routes, but there's only room for one airport outside London serving the major flag carriers and linking into the global networks. 53N 002W is about the best place for it. MAN already has good surface transport connections, and by the end of this decade will have improved road links (A555) and faster and more frequent electric trains from Liverpool, Leeds, and Scotland. And locally the Metrolink tramway.
This is not about Manchester vs Leeds or Liverpool, Manchester is the North's gateway airport, a national asset not just a regional one. For similar reasons Liverpool will always be the North's main sea port, with Port Salford etc. limited to a niche market.
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