cumbrianboy, that's the most sensible post I've seen on here for a long time.
Some regional airports would love to have 650k+ passengers a year. Yet, some people (the FSB in particular) think this is a failure. I think the FSB forget that Sheffield City only managed 70k in its busiest year (pre-Peel BTW). So it's puzzling why they are gloating about DSA's drop in passenger numbers and wishing to resurrect SZD.
I think the biggest mistake that DSA made was relying on Thomson Fly as a launch airline. They had routes to "business destinations", like Amsterdam, at launch - I flew that route several times and the load factor must have been approaching 100%. And I regularly flew to Spain for £8 each way from DSA (including taxes and fees). Unfortunately, Thomson Fly changed their business model after a couple of years and replaced low cost with charter and prices increased sharply. At the same time, APD was rising fast and the economy dropping like a stone. All of these factors together had a big impact on passenger numbers.
blackbeard1, an airport with only 45k passengers and zero cargo potential is surely going to be worth more without an airport than with it. DSA on the other hand has much more potential with the airport open. A significant proportion of the business park is occupied by aircraft related businesses, who would leave if the airport was to close.
Last edited by wb9999; 24th Jun 2013 at 09:59.