RW20,
I'm not an apologist for SOU management (far from it, I despair at some of the short-term thinking and decision making that has hampered the airport over years, on top of its geographic limitations)
However, can you clarify who you mean by "SOU management"?
As I understand it, back in the days when BAA owned it they showed next to no interest in the place, and many of the decisions that currently hamstring it were made under their ownership.
However, since AGS took over we have seen operations announced by VLM (granted they went bust but not the airport's fault, loads on their ANR-HAM service were constantly improving and becoming halfway decent), Aer Lingus regional, Volotea (who have expanded this year), KLM, BMI regional, Powdair (?), skywork (?????) and now easyJet. Not a bad roster of additional operators for a small regional airport in the space of two years.
They're obviously sweating their assets and squeezing as much revenue out of the place as they can in its current configuration, and while it may not be a spotters paradise it does make business sense. I strongly believe that the performance last year, and even more so this year, will prove that demand is there and provide the catalyst for further growth in the near future. Why wouldn't they get as much out of the current infrastructure as they can before committing funds to expand?
Look at Bournemouth and how much money was ploughed into infrastructure investments there on the basis of speculative growth. Has it worked out for them? I'd say not. How long had it been up for sale for now?
As far as the existing infrastructure at SOU goes, you don't need much else to support expanded operations beyond what's already there.
A third taxiway- nice but not a necessity, the runway isn't at capacity and while backtracking isn't normal in this country, it's not an operational issue.
A 20 starter strip- arguably the best chance of a return on investment, this would allow extra performance and new, further destinations, increasing passsenger numbers.
New radar- will probably happen in time but the existing one still works, doesn't it?
New A320 stands- another good idea operationally, would allow more A320 movements at one time so would increase revenue. Not essential though, 320s can still be parked on the existing layout, just not as efficiently.
New approach aids- while they may not be up to scratch compared with bigger airports, how often do flights actually have to divert because of being unable to make an approach? A very small number of flights per year I'd say. These are mostly due to fog, and even a cat III ILS would have times where landings weren't possible. Worth the money? I'd argue not. Aircraft can fly approaches and land on both runways pretty much every day of the year at the moment.
New lighting- see above.
The ability already exists to land, turn round and depart an Airbus-sized aircraft to a sunnier clime, look at Volotea this year, Evelop! last summer or easyJet this coming winter. Expand those existing flights to arrive from and depart to few more destinations, spread them throughout the day/week and hey presto, you've got a reasonably large easyJet operation. Whether it happens or not is another question, but I don't see any reason why it can't.
At least there's some momentum now, how many years was that lacking for?