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I agree.
However the article does suggest;
"business surveys reveal more Welsh residents fly from Manchester than Heathrow".
I suspect somebody is taking journalistic licence however I have read this in three separate sources in the last 12 months.
Maybe each publication is quoting the wrong incorrect source? It wont' be the first time.
The point was more about MAG not just including the North of England but a geographical area which is much closer but somewhat forgotten. It's also one which carries more political weight than its size suggests, therefore MAG should tap into that. N Wales MPs like Scotland are more inclined to campaign for their own patch than their cousins in the Mancunian Republic therefore gaining more publicity. It was on that basis that I believe MAG "could" have included N Wales in its analysis.
Clearly using up rail capacity to service a 'thin inbound route" would be detrimental but it's also about providing a gateway from the airport outbound. Plenty tourists would see the line from Chester to Anglesey as rather glorious. 2 a day plus a sprinkling of adhoc doesn't really cut the mustard.