Originally Posted by
roverman
Big population=big airport. Yes, but the airport isn't necessarily right next to the big population. For example Rotterdam/Den Haag/Utrecht in the Netherlands - a sizeable population and much industry. Rotterdam has a small airport for local needs, the main airport being Amsterdam Schipol.
This works fine with fast road and rail connections.
Leeds/Bradford/West Yorks has a local airport with better services than Rotterdam. The main airport is Manchester which has good and improving road and rail links. No need spending more money at Church Fenton to provide something which is already available. Can you honestly expect CF to have anything like the range of flights MAN has. Ever?
Rotterdam, the hague, Utrecht much closer to AMS and catchment is into the sea. Leeds is at crossroads of the urban north of England. Rotterdam population 600 thousand I think. Yorkshire is 5.3 million. Not even comparable. Hull cr has population of 600 thousand - its a little bit further away from MAN than Rotterdam is from AMS.
Church Fenton (Yorkshire International) would not have the range of flights of MAN but the ratio would not be 6 or 7 to 1 as it is at present. "No need creating a profitable airport at Church Fenton for 5.3 million when we can just keep paying and struggling across the busy and snowy M62-eh"