Bagso,it isn't a case of being dim, it's a case of the government will do what the hell it wants. Manchester suffered from this attitude prior to deregulation when BEA/BOAC/BA went crying to government whenever any airline applied for a route ex Manchester which was thought likely to impact on their monopoly. The saga of the SABENA and Aer Lingus fifth freedom rights may be half a century or so old but the Londoncentric mentality is alive and kicking in every level of the government and civil service and Brexit will only make this even more so.