Possible London runway?
I don't know a lot about Manston, but I always thought it had one of the longest runways in the country? So rightly or wrongly I have long harboured the idea that Manston could very easily be the runway that the London area so desperately needs. If indeed it does.
As a Londoner and a watcher of aeroplanes, any further increase in capacity at Heathrow just appears insanity - very expensive insanity. Not though even in the same class as the astronomically expensive insanity of a Boris Island a la Hong Kong. If, as many claim, we desperately need another high capacity runway/airport somewhere in the south, what's wrong with Manston?
It is but a few miles from the high speed rail link to the tunnel and a branch could surely be constructed? Similarly, it is not that far from the M2 or M20 motorways and spurs could be constructed without resorting to massive bridges or expensive tunnels. With prevailing winds the majority of take offs would be over largely empty farm land and, most importantly, movements would not need to conflict with either LGW, LCY and certainly not LHR.
Yes, an HS Rail branch would be expensive as would M20 and/or M2 spurs, plus smart new terminals, parking and baggage handling, but the costs pale into insignificance compared to Boris Island or Heathrow III. A sort of 'poor man's extra runway'. Passengers could be in central London or LCY in less than an hour, Heathrow in 75 mins, ditto Stanstead and a bit more to Luton. With HSII, travellers could be in Birminham in under two hours and Manchester in two and a half. Everyone else would be on the motorway network on the right side of London - the one that doesn't suffer from the Heathrow snarl up every day.
Anyone else feel the same?
Roger.