When considering the capital city’s international air travel offerings, it’s usually Gatwick and Heathrow that instantly soar in to my mind. Well, until my bank balance promptly pulls me back down to earth with the rather humble reminder that my budget is much better suited to the lower-cost likes of Luton and Stansted, that is. But I come bearing the news of another aviation hub that could soon be throwing its hat into the ring. And whilst this particular airport has been kicking about for well over a century, it’s been sat derelict for over a decade. Until now…
The aviation hub in question is Manston Airport; a 700-acre former RAF station in Kent. The final passenger flight left Manston’s runway back in 2014 and the site has since been used as a lorry park, a filming location, and an aviation events space. The abandoned airport was snapped up by RiverOak Strategic Partners (RSP) for a whopping £16.5 million back in 2019. And the company’s plans to give the airport a new lease of life are officially almost ready for take off.
The history of Manston Airport
Having set up shop in 1916, Manston Airport was initially used as a take-off and landing spot for the Royal Air Force during the World Wars. It wasn’t until the sixties that it became a proper airport, offering various international passenger flights. In the eighties, the site was renamed Kent International Airport and in the early noughties, plans were in the pipeline to transform the airport into a hub for hotfooting it to the likes of Amsterdam, Verona, Porto, and Naples. Unfortunately these plans never quite made it off the runway, and due to constant losses, the airport officially closed its doors in 2014.
The future of Manston Airport
Okay, now we’re all up to date, it’s time to gaze into the future. And it’s looking fairly bright for Manston Airport, to be quite honest with you. The site has been undergoing a rather mighty makeover over the past few years in preparation for its imminent comeback. The owners had previously hoped to reopen the airport in 2025 but due to planning complexities, rising costs, and turbulent markets, that date has been pushed back. However, if all goes smoothly from this point forward, RSP has confirmed that the airport could be up and running by 2029.
The airport will initially open for cargo operations (with the hope of handling around a million tonnes of freight per year once fully operational), but budget-friendly passenger flights are set to be introduced a bit further down the line. A public consultation regarding the proposed flight paths and the airspace redesign was held between March and June, giving locals the chance to put their two cents in on the matter. The consultation has recently closed and RSP are reviewing the responses as we speak. And a Consultation Report is soon set to be published, revealing the accumulated findings.
Tony Freudmann from RiverOak Strategic Partners said prior to the consultation: “This consultation is an important step in our ambitious to reopen Manston Airport, representing a once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver new runway capacity to support the UK air cargo market and to transform the economic landscape in Kent.
You can find out more about RSP’s plans to reopen Manston Airport here.
