Lourdes
 

I am not really vell-versed with that pilgrimage stuff - but given the relatively small percentage of Roman-Catholics in the UK and the general decline in worshipping etc. etc., I am surprised that there is still a market for such "aerial pilgrimages".

Massive market - staying local have you ever been to Walsingham Norfolk>? the shrine there attracts 10000's

Sure. But going to places far away by plane? Reason why I was asking is that in England and Wales there are roughly 4m Roman Catholics with fewer than 1m counted as regular mass goers in the whole of England & Wales (who, I suppose, are the target group for pilgrimages).

It is perhaps worth remembering that while Catholicism is not the dominant religion in the UK, those who follow this faith quite often spend a lot more of their time/money on matters of faith than the average UK resident and thus the numbers going to Lourdes is more than might be expected given the resident population number. Amongst those who are elderly or very ill and thus who are concerned with their mortality, praying at a shrine has a strong appeal. While not Catholic, I have seen the pilgrims at Lourdes - the religious devotion and atmosphere there is extraordinary

One can observe a similiar effect with the demand amongst Jews for flights to Israel or amongst Muslims wishing to go to Mecca or Sikhs travelling to Amritsar

Also don't forget a lot of Eastern Europeans are quite devout Catholics - Poles in particular have been credited with turning around falling church numbers in some areas.

That sound more like a business case for a new WizzAir route from LTN to LDE :)

I guess such flights are quite a logistical challenge given that a lot of passengers will be elderly, weak and frail pilgrims who require assistance passing through the airport right up to the aircraft. Hope SEN has all the hardware in place for that.

Lourdes flights have been operating from many UK airports for as long as I can remember - and yes lots of assistance needed, usually many wheelchairs.

SEN has those U shaped ramps for boarding WCHR's which we never had back in our day at LHR or LPL when I was at BMA - we had to lift on about 30-40 WCHR's - either by hand (carry ons) or the
Hi-lift truck for the lift ons- I seem to recall the fire brigade guys did the WCHR carry-ons for us...

Tarbes have air bridges - but can you put a jetty on a 146?

Yes, you can with the right type of jetbridge:

https://cdn.jetphotos.com/full/2/96815_1057409193.jpg

Although I suspect it will be rather steep.

146 jetty at tarbes
 

Indeed you can seen here at Tarbes Aéroport Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées: WDL Aviation: British Aerospace BAe-146-300: MSN E2028. - LES AVIONS QUI PASSENT A L'AEROPORT DE TARBES-LOURDES-PYRENEES,?AP?-?YPA, TARBA-LORDA, ATURBE-LURDA ET SUR D'AUTRE AEROPORT.

I boarded an RJ via a jetbridge at either LYS or VIE (cannot remember which) and I don't remember it feeling much different from 'normal'. SEN has Aviramp-style boarding ramps which they use for able-bodied pax as well as for disabled. Mind you one passenger I saw apparently couldn't believe he should use the ramp and climbed up the service ladder leading to the top ramp level, clutching his carry on bag. His wife followed his example.

Has the grooving of the runway been completed?

Not yet but I heard about a week ago that 80% of the re-surfacing was complete and that the work programme was one week ahead of schedule. The schedule was for completion of the project by 22nd March.

Come on, be fair. Name another London airport where you could process everyone twice and they still make their flights.

https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/174...ers-evacuated/
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Durham Tees Valley has officially joined the Stobart group today.