Seems an odd decision given that there is acres of parking, and never any ATC problems
Not quite. I flew in to the Flying Legends show on the Sunday last year, and the departure system collapsed due to either a) some muppet with a big aerial transmitting across the DUXFORD AFIS frequency b) someone with a stuck PTT button who didnt have the sense to turn his (or her) radio off or change COM stations.
The end result was that a few big boys (turboprops heading abroad) got airborne, and then a line of planes, like a line of cars on the M25 sat there engines running for about 20 minutes or so. Duxford having realised the ATC problem was not going to resolve itself quickly, sent out a marshaller who hurriedly directed aircraft onto the runway, however in my view, rather unsafely as aircraft were being 'encouraged' to depart seconds after the previous one got airborne.
Oh, and the landing fee for aircraft was high. I recall the total price for my Wife and I + one PA28 was ~£130. Tickets on the door were around £25-30 I believe. Would I do it again if travelling by air was the quickest option, yes, but seeing as I live pretty close to Duxford anyhow, this weekend, and for the flying legends show I am just gonna take the car.