Marginal Airports (UK)
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a grass airfield at St. Just has a route to Scilly Isles
They also have a Trinity House Lighthouse helicopter depot and very small terminal at the Airport.
You don't need tarmac and jets to be an Airport.
As for the others listed. To focus on the current financial situation is shortsighted. Most will be investing for the long term and I am sure some will struggle in the short term, but the long term future (if the forecasts are correct) is very promising.
The appeal of smaller Airports with quick 'processing' time and good links to city centres etc. is growing...
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Barnaby,
VERY MUCH AN AIRPORT, go view LHR, LGW, MAN, CDG, AMS, BRU, MAD, FRA, MUC, JFK, LAX, YYZ etc.etc. etc. and then come back and say that a grass field near Lands End is VERY MUCH an airport!
VERY MUCH AN AIRPORT, go view LHR, LGW, MAN, CDG, AMS, BRU, MAD, FRA, MUC, JFK, LAX, YYZ etc.etc. etc. and then come back and say that a grass field near Lands End is VERY MUCH an airport!
If airport management can keep going financially, who are we to say they should close ?
I don't actually see what the size of the airfield has to do with it being called an airport or not.
I would say that a reasonable definition of the word 'airport' is that it is an airfield/aerodrome that has dedicated passenger and/or freight handling facilities; i.e. it has a terminal capable of processing pax for either scheduled or charter flights.
I would say that GLO is definitely an airport, as is LYD (albeit greatly underused at present) and OXF has recently changed from being an airfield to an airport. At present CAX probably doesn't quailfy under my definition.
Frankly I think it's ridiculous to suggest that Norwich is surplus to requirements, to take one of the examples suggested. It serves a large, if rather sparsely populated, catchment area and should be able to survive comfortably by meeting the limited needs of its region. It's only when such airport managements become unrealistic in their expectations that they run into trouble - nearly always involving grand plans to fill their ramp with subsidised airliners rather than developing the less glamorous, profitable side of their businesses.
I would say that a reasonable definition of the word 'airport' is that it is an airfield/aerodrome that has dedicated passenger and/or freight handling facilities; i.e. it has a terminal capable of processing pax for either scheduled or charter flights.
I would say that GLO is definitely an airport, as is LYD (albeit greatly underused at present) and OXF has recently changed from being an airfield to an airport. At present CAX probably doesn't quailfy under my definition.
Frankly I think it's ridiculous to suggest that Norwich is surplus to requirements, to take one of the examples suggested. It serves a large, if rather sparsely populated, catchment area and should be able to survive comfortably by meeting the limited needs of its region. It's only when such airport managements become unrealistic in their expectations that they run into trouble - nearly always involving grand plans to fill their ramp with subsidised airliners rather than developing the less glamorous, profitable side of their businesses.
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Just to give a comparative view - in Germany, in the past couple of years the following "marginal airports" have lost their scheduled services - some of them airports that in the past even had base carriers with up to half a dozen based aircraft:
- Kiel (KEL)
- Augsburg (AGB)
- Mönchengladbach (MGL)
- Bayreuth (BEY)
- Siegerland (SGE)
- Kassel (KSF)
On the brink of extinction (scheduled service-wise) are:
- Erfurt (ERF)
- Zweibrücken (ZQW)
- Hof (HOQ)
- Mannheim (MHG)
- Kiel (KEL)
- Augsburg (AGB)
- Mönchengladbach (MGL)
- Bayreuth (BEY)
- Siegerland (SGE)
- Kassel (KSF)
On the brink of extinction (scheduled service-wise) are:
- Erfurt (ERF)
- Zweibrücken (ZQW)
- Hof (HOQ)
- Mannheim (MHG)
VERY MUCH AN AIRPORT, go view LHR, LGW, MAN, CDG, AMS, BRU, MAD, FRA, MUC, JFK, LAX, YYZ etc.etc. etc. and then come back and say that a grass field near Lands End is VERY MUCH an airport
Join Date: Nov 2009
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Yes sorry Knife Edge was aware of that and believe it does well for Easy Jet. There are other ski charters ( Inghams to Innsbruck weekly) and Bath Travel has a few Charters to the Caribbean but till FR reappear in February is a very quiet place for Passenger movements!
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Phileas...when I left the 'airfield' tonight, there were 18 pax waiting for the third rotation for the Isle of Man today and this was on Stand 1
Global Express HB-JFY | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Plenty of niches for places like GLO to fill...
Global Express HB-JFY | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Plenty of niches for places like GLO to fill...
Join Date: Aug 2007
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Over time passenger carrying airports will come and go but there will always be an airfield (aerodrome in CAA-speak). Coventry became an airport but failed due to being reliant on one carrier and a bad relation with it's local council, plus the fact that BHX wasn't far but it did have good road communications in it's favour but that was it.
Unlike Bournemouth which is has it's own unique catchment area in Dorset/New Forest but is hamstrung by the local roads and hopeless marketing.
Southampton has a short uncategorised runway and has strict closing times stole a march on sewing up domestic and business travel.
Exeter is also domestic/business as well bucket and spade holidays and the managers cannot must be happy at their well spread portfolio.
All three will survive and persist in being airports, it's just a question of scale.
Unlike Bournemouth which is has it's own unique catchment area in Dorset/New Forest but is hamstrung by the local roads and hopeless marketing.
Southampton has a short uncategorised runway and has strict closing times stole a march on sewing up domestic and business travel.
Exeter is also domestic/business as well bucket and spade holidays and the managers cannot must be happy at their well spread portfolio.
All three will survive and persist in being airports, it's just a question of scale.
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Shoreham Airport on the south coast is always refered to as an airport despite having no scheduled services whatsoever. Everyone calls it Shoreham Airport. I know its relatively short runway of 3400 ft and its proximity to LGW doesn't help matters, but can anyone shed any light on why airlines wont touch Shoreham Airport with a barge pole and also what type of passenger carrying aircraft could operate safely from there?
Blackbushe is also known as an "Airport" and even has an IATA code (BBS), although I suspect this is mainly historical from the period up to the 1960's when there were plenty of scheduled and charter airline Ops. there.
Having said that, the place is looking more like a "Airport" than it has for years at present - there is even a garage to put the Fire vehicles in now and an almost daily smattering of small to medium-size bizjets on the apron
Having said that, the place is looking more like a "Airport" than it has for years at present - there is even a garage to put the Fire vehicles in now and an almost daily smattering of small to medium-size bizjets on the apron
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Airlift,
Back in the 80's JEA (now FlyBE) operated a JER route to/from Shoreham (ESH) utilising a Twotter, they took the route over from a local outfit, the identity of which slips my mind.
Brymon operated 2 Twotter routes in/out LGW at the time and ESH would be Brymon's preferred alternate (before Biggin).
The problem(s) with ESH are (1) the length of runway and (2) the fire cover, in the old days I understand their Landrover fire truck was towed around by a tractor, not sure if this is true or not, but, these days, are there any LGW operators that utilise a type of aircraft that can operate in/out of ESH based on the length of runway and with minimal fire cover?
Back in the 80's JEA (now FlyBE) operated a JER route to/from Shoreham (ESH) utilising a Twotter, they took the route over from a local outfit, the identity of which slips my mind.
Brymon operated 2 Twotter routes in/out LGW at the time and ESH would be Brymon's preferred alternate (before Biggin).
The problem(s) with ESH are (1) the length of runway and (2) the fire cover, in the old days I understand their Landrover fire truck was towed around by a tractor, not sure if this is true or not, but, these days, are there any LGW operators that utilise a type of aircraft that can operate in/out of ESH based on the length of runway and with minimal fire cover?
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Back in the 80's JEA (now FlyBE) operated a JER route to/from Shoreham (ESH) utilising a Twotter, they took the route over from a local outfit, the identity of which slips my mind.
I wanted to start a Cardiff to Shoreham schedule with Air Wales Do228, we even did a trial flight there. It wasn't such a silly idea after market research indicated that Legal and General, American Express and Ford Motor Company would have supported the service regularly. Unfortunately the owner of the airline didn't share my enthusiasm so it never happened but the team at Shoreham Airportfield were great!
There will always be a demand for flights to the Islands - it gets a bit wet on the way for a train or bus!
There will always be a demand for flights to the Islands - it gets a bit wet on the way for a train or bus!
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Flaps40,
I recall a South East Air, Biggin based I think, operating one or more HP7 aircraft but they didn't last very long.
The mob that, before JEA, operated ESH/JER was something like 'Hayward Air Services'.
Found it ... Haywards Aviation Ltd, see the link below:
cessna | 1973 | 0524 | Flight Archive
I recall a South East Air, Biggin based I think, operating one or more HP7 aircraft but they didn't last very long.
The mob that, before JEA, operated ESH/JER was something like 'Hayward Air Services'.
Found it ... Haywards Aviation Ltd, see the link below:
cessna | 1973 | 0524 | Flight Archive
Last edited by Phileas Fogg; 17th Nov 2010 at 15:51.
A Runyonesque Character
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Marginal airports throughout Europe have a nasty shock appearing over the horizon, in the shape of aviation’s inclusion in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme from 2012. Essentially it equates to fuel rationing – airlines will receive credits equivalent to 82% of their 2005 fuel burn, anything over that they have to buy, either from governments (‘auctioning’) or from other holders of credits.
Which means that marginal routes are going to be very closely scrutinised by the beancounters (that seems to be a popular term around here – I do not use it pejoratively) because serving them will use up scarce and suddenly valuable credits. Goodness knows what will happen in the LoCo sector but I think that a lot of the smaller spokes in the networks will disappear and some communities will lose connectivity altogether.
Rather like what happened to Leeds and Teesside when suddenly it became interesting for BMI to allocate another scarce commodity (Heathrow slots) to more lucrative destinations. In the case of Leeds, they still have network access to AMS and BRU – but for how much longer? Teesside sorry Durham Tees Valley is a basket case.
Which means that marginal routes are going to be very closely scrutinised by the beancounters (that seems to be a popular term around here – I do not use it pejoratively) because serving them will use up scarce and suddenly valuable credits. Goodness knows what will happen in the LoCo sector but I think that a lot of the smaller spokes in the networks will disappear and some communities will lose connectivity altogether.
Rather like what happened to Leeds and Teesside when suddenly it became interesting for BMI to allocate another scarce commodity (Heathrow slots) to more lucrative destinations. In the case of Leeds, they still have network access to AMS and BRU – but for how much longer? Teesside sorry Durham Tees Valley is a basket case.
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Regarding Plymouth, it is an airport on the top of a hill, but it's certainly better there than sea level. You get dense sea fog rolling in from the Sound and right pea soupers in both the Tamar and Plym valleys much more frequently than the current airport is closed for bad weather. Not ideal, but considering the topography you are literally stuck between a rock and a hard place.