It's well documented that the use of the letter post has declined dramatically over the past ten years and inevitable that overnight mail flights would eventually largely disappear. The BOH Mail flight operation has been running uninterrupted since 1980 and has outlasted the operations at Liverpool & Bristol for example, by many years. Pretty good going I'd say.
The decline in mail is set to continue as it is replaced by e-alternatives. the Royal Mail has said so:
http://www.royalmailgroup.com/sites/...0to%202023.pdf
Newspapers too are largely in terminal decline, so for me at least it's no surprise that these flights will come to an end.
Parcels on the other hand are growing, but according to the experts this cargo is likely to continue by road for UK domestic at least. There is plenty of study material out there to illustrate the facts.
The Solution for CI remains to be seen, but links to either STN or EMA freight hubs seem most logical.
But For most UK mainland airports, the decline in mail and newspaper demand means fewer mail and Cargo flights.
However it does also mean that more overnight aircraft parking stands will become available. For most air transport airports in UK (away from LHR, LGW ) it is these stands that are in short supply, not the infamous runway slots.
The outcome of the loss of mail flights for those airports will free up new parking capacity, it is likely in many cases to lead to more based aircraft and more passenger flights.
Every cloud!
FF