Broadstairs resident Julee Russell kindly wrote this article and I agreed to publish it. Thanks Julee @juleedownunder (follow her on twitter)
On the sleepy coast of East Kent on the Isle of Thanet to be correct, there has been an airfield in use since 1915.
It started small with the RAF using it as a flight command centre and training their fighter pilots. and It was perfectly positioned for the defence of Britain during two world wars with its long and wide runway it was perfect for battle damaged planes to land safely.
In fact it was also available to NASA as an emergency landing runway for the space shuttle.
The RAF moved on in the '90s but Manston wasn't beaten,
EUjet , Ryan air, and Flybe with a few others I forget their names, did their best to set up budget flights from there, sadly with lack of sufficient advertising and no direct train links , it didn't work out.
Manston still had a thriving Flight training school , small planes use the airport, emergency landings are frequent . The regular cargo flights, bringing in our exotic flowers and fruits and aid planes would leave from here too and there is also an aeroplane recycling centre!
Recently British Airways did a bit of training there and its new A380 was seen over the Skies at Manston.
The Rolling Stones tour jet was painted by a business located at the Airport. We have the RAF museum and the Spitfire and Hurricane museum located on its land too.
Now to the present day, I discovered Manston when moving to Broadstairs 18 months ago,
KLM had just set up operations from Kent International airport and things again were looking up .
I booked my flight to China via Amsterdam, it was a pure delight 15 minutes from home I was checking in, a half hour later I was on the City hopper to Amsterdam, then on to my final destination in China, easy peasy.
I did the same trip 3 times, I also had a week in Amsterdam fabulous!
Manston is perfectly positioned to hop over to the continent...but on the 15th May 2014 the airport was shut down.
The short story is that the Airport was sold along with its debts to Scottish Business woman /founder of the Stagecoach bus lines for the sum of £1.00
On the sleepy coast of East Kent on the Isle of Thanet to be correct, there has been an airfield in use since 1915.
It started small with the RAF using it as a flight command centre and training their fighter pilots. and It was perfectly positioned for the defence of Britain during two world wars with its long and wide runway it was perfect for battle damaged planes to land safely.
 |
| An old view of Manston Airport |
In fact it was also available to NASA as an emergency landing runway for the space shuttle.
The RAF moved on in the '90s but Manston wasn't beaten,
EUjet , Ryan air, and Flybe with a few others I forget their names, did their best to set up budget flights from there, sadly with lack of sufficient advertising and no direct train links , it didn't work out.
Manston still had a thriving Flight training school , small planes use the airport, emergency landings are frequent . The regular cargo flights, bringing in our exotic flowers and fruits and aid planes would leave from here too and there is also an aeroplane recycling centre!
 |
| Concorde at Manston Airport |
Recently British Airways did a bit of training there and its new A380 was seen over the Skies at Manston.
The Rolling Stones tour jet was painted by a business located at the Airport. We have the RAF museum and the Spitfire and Hurricane museum located on its land too.
Now to the present day, I discovered Manston when moving to Broadstairs 18 months ago,
KLM had just set up operations from Kent International airport and things again were looking up .
I booked my flight to China via Amsterdam, it was a pure delight 15 minutes from home I was checking in, a half hour later I was on the City hopper to Amsterdam, then on to my final destination in China, easy peasy.
I did the same trip 3 times, I also had a week in Amsterdam fabulous!
 |
| Manston linked Thanet Island to China and the world, a good thing for the economy, surely? |
The short story is that the Airport was sold along with its debts to Scottish Business woman /founder of the Stagecoach bus lines for the sum of £1.00
This woman's name is Anne Gloag.
There have been rumours flying around that Thanet District Council have had secret talks with Golag about turning the area into a huge housing estate , other stories tell of bribes and backhanders as on almost the same day that Manston was closed, Lydd Airport further along the coast on the Romney Marshes was given the go ahead for expansion , Lydd of course is perfectly situated between a military firing range, numerous RSPB natural sites and a bloody great nuclear power station! But then Lydd is owned a Saudi arms dealer and I'm sure his money did the talking.
 |
| Look Closely and you might see London-Ashford Airport at Lydd. Right next to Dungeness Nuclear Power Station. Recipe for disaster? |
It used to be so easy to to travel anywhere in the world from my corner of Kent, Now the links have been cut to the outside world we are truly back to Planet Thanet.
Join our campaign, we are not going quietly!
#savemanston
Join our campaign, we are not going quietly!
#savemanston
Posts
10 comments:
The fact that Save Manston Airport now has over 6000 members and there have been close to 16,000 signatures on a petition to save it should count for a lot . It is a no brainer that someone with vision, staying power and deep pockets should talk it over and do something with it. The foundation is there ! It can be a success. As far as many of us are concerned it was a success. Flying to NYC via Amsterdam was a pleasure and took less time even with the transfer than getting to Heathrow or Gatwick. also when you factor in the hassle factor of both those airports plus the cost of parking the car or being taken there it really is a no brainer ! Where is that someone who isn't as lazy as the others were ?
Absolutely right!
well written and echos the feelings of hundreds of people in thanet. Lets hope common sense and listening to the majority will win in the end and we can start to return Thanet to the buzzing happy heyday of the 70's when people flocked here to use the airport, ferries and hoverport
Manston is here ready and waiting, , it will need investment,, but it can happen KLM gave it a go with their CityHopper flights to Amsterdam recently , they were working hard promoting it so it with a little push #savemanstonairport could be great again.
I agree with all your comments. We need to get someone to bring this all to the attention of people all over via the papers TV etc, not just in the immediate area. Visited my father in Ramsgate sunday first time since closure, so quiet, it was horrible, bring back our planes over his head. Fingers crossed this will happen, put Ann Gloag back on a non return bus to scotland.
read...enjoyed...liked....and shared !
Fantastic article, we fight on
Anne Gloag bought Manston Airport for a £1, she said she would make it a successful International Airport in 2 yrs. Gloag then had secret talks with Thanet District Council and the leader of Kent County Council believed to be about turning the area into a huge housing estate. Then, after just 4 months of running the airport, Gloag announced the closure of Manston Airport, saying it had run up huge losses, when in fact she had loaded the depts from Prestwick Airport onto Manston. What multi millionaire business person, would buy a business like an Airport and then close it so quickly. Anne Gloag never gave Manston Airport a chance and had no intention of doing so.
We the people of Thanet are now left to fight off a huge housing development planned to be built on our Manston Airport.
Mrs Gloag didn't even take on any debts. Just £1 plus 350k interim running costs.
Awful, business, right next to the hs1 line too! What a waste of an airport, could have been the extra runway london needs.
Post a Comment
Please leave a comment! I love hearing from people who take the time to read my ramblings! I wont even make you do one of those annoying "type the letters you see" things! Promise!!!