Does the sale of Cardiff Airport signal a return of UK airports to the public sector? - Part 2 | CAPA - Centre for Aviation
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Durham Tees Valley is trying hard to get back on track again by maximising the development potential of the entire site as well as retaining and building on the two remaining key services; the KLM service to Amsterdam and the Eastern Airways flight to Aberdeen.
DTV badly needs a service to London, but would seem unlikely to get one, being sandwiched as it is between British Airways' Heathrow flights at both Leeds Bradford to the south and Newcastle to the north with supporting flights to Gatwick at Newcastle by other carriers.
In Oct-2013 the management rather boldly declared it would no longer accept any charter flights as it attempts to rebrand itself as a business airport to help sustain the local – mainly manufacturing based economy – which has been hard hit by the recession.
Of England’s main airports these are the three that would be perhaps most likely to go back into public sector or part public-private ownership if the alternative was closure. (In the case of Doncaster it would mean entering the public sector for the first time – it was financed and built privately by Peel Holdings, albeit with the assistance of EU funds).
All three are located in manufacturing regions which could reasonably be described as ‘post-industrial’ and which would be even more adversely affected economically if they had no local airport. (A prior example might bePlymouth Airport, which closed two years ago, effectively cutting off parts of the English West Country not only from London but from the European mainland and especially so recently when inclement weather destroyed the main rail line).
Elsewhere in the Peel empire, they are buying under their Intu ownership. New shopping centres costing hundreds of millions, while DTV is being run into the ground.
Intu Properties plc Intu announces asset acquisitions and rights issue - WSJ.com
And they say there is no money around.
