Don't quite see why Sotbart is a villain.
Carlisle seems to be the exact place that this fund is aimed to help. It's a region which needs economic stimulation and it's a long proven fact that air service connections are a catalyst to economic growth.
Stobart have 48 seat aircraft that are ideal for this market. The Carlise, Penrith and the wider Northumberland / Cumbrian catchment area is particularly poorly served by air transport, as the only options are MAN (2 hours away) or NCL - a difficult crossing especially in marginal weather.
So, you have some regional flights into the local airport, with what is a comparatively small amount of funding over a couple of years to help the service get off the ground and help to cover the losses in the first few years.
it provides employment, boosts economic growth … hence satisfying the aims of the fund.
the routes will lose money initially, all new air services lose money in the first few years. But with support for a few years they have time to mature and develop and become self sustaining.
So, as I say, why exactly is stobart the villain? Are they any more of a villain than Flybe wanting funding for a LBA- NQY service? I think not,
Just because you don't want to use the flights, doesn't mean the people of cumbria won't be delighted to have direct access to air travel
And I know the usual arguments about the train being a good service will come to the fore, and i'm not saying it isn't but not everyone wants to go to the west end of london, and if you want to go anywhere north or east, then actually an air service to Southend is probably more appealing, efficient and will be probably be cheaper.