Originally Posted by
Andy_S
The trouble is the naysayers have been calling it right for as long as I can remember....
People have been making this claim about Manston as long as I can remember, and it's no more true now than it was then. Have you seen the well established storage and logistics industry which has sprung up around Heathrow? It would be difficult and expensive to replicate the facilities at MSE.
I've only been following the fortunes of Manston for about 20 years, so obviously I'm one of the uninformed. Perhaps you could explain to me how, since 99% of freight at Heathrow and Gatwick arrives in the cargo holds of passenger aircraft, exactly how passengers and freight are to be separated in a manner which allows freight to move to Manston?
And 1% of the South East's non-below deck cargo throughput is? How much does Manston need of that market to be profitable on a cargo only basis? How long does it take to get a perishable load from the aircraft (wheels on ground) onto a truck (doors closed, departing) at Heathrow compared to Manston?
Running an airport at a profit requires granular knowledge of the operation on a financial and technical level; most of the posters on here don't have that knowledge.
If you know the answers to the questions above you will know that cargo operations at Manston can be profitable.