Thursday, August 08, 2013

Airport Ditches Night Flights Ban

Lorks! Having now waded through the 32 pages of illiterate claptrap which masquerades as RAF London Kent Manston etc etc's submission to HMG's review of airport capacity, I can bring you this little gem:

Manston is already a licensed airfield with currently has [sic] no night-time restrictions

The submission was produced by Cheerful Charlie Buchanan, the airport's head honcho. Obvious typo aside (one of many), Chuckles seems to have forgotten the agreement that does currently exist, banning flights between 11pm and 7am. Oh, but of course, that's not enforceable. And despite assurances from the current Labour lot at Thanet Duffer Central that they would uphold the 'ban', they've already caved in to KLM, who fly out at 6.20 every morning.

The rest of the gobbledegook mainly bangs on about Manston becoming a 'reliever airport'. Presumably that entails flying planeloads of hookers over from Amsterdam to, er, relieve those ageing, predominantly UKIP-supporting, Thanetians whose arthritic joints have long robbed them of the capacity to do it themselves. Well, no, actually, in effect it means more knackered old jumbos from countries whose idea of maintenance begins and ends with superglue, knackering knackered old jumbos, and more dodgy military stuff headed for what the aforementioned UKIP supporters would describe as 'Bongo Bongo Land'.

If you can bear to wade through the entire submission, there's a link to it here.

Right, I'd better get off or I'll be late for my audition as the replacement for Louis Walsh on the X Factor. Be seeing you!

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Perhaps the "Great Wall" should in fact read in giant letters, illuminated at night of course, 'Manston that way' with an arrow pointing towards Broadstairs. You thought I was going to say 'Fokker off' or some such special instruction to pilots. ;-)

Anonymous said...

No doubt "Cheerful Charlie Buchanan" has put his submission together without spending a penny on it. I don't think that the New Zealand airport owners would sanction spending any more cash on what has become a liability to them. Their shareholders are use to seeing 20% returns on Infratil's investments and the UK airports must be an embarrassment to them.

Speaking of your auditions ECR, I think you would be more suited to fill the vacancy on "In the thick of it" than the X-factor.

Anonymous said...

I think there may be a flaw in the agreement. "Reliever" or "Re-lever"?

X factor may not want a Jazz bias.

But best of luck.

Schmoozyschlepp said...

Still don't understand how that 6.20 or 6.35 am (it's often when I wake up) flight slipped under the wire... were we just all so thrilled that big cuddly KLM wanted to honour dear little old us? and we all rolled over and had our tummies tickled, instead of biting their effing hands off...

Anonymous said...

I think it started as 6.35 but has slipped forward to 6.20 in the current schedule.

They are nibbling away at our sleep by stealth.

That's the answer - only let stealth bombers use Manston. Now they must be super quiet!

Readit said...

Anon 6.21pm. Stealth bombers have been flying in day and night for the last ten years, did you not notice:-)

Anyway Sir Howard Davies said "Manston won't take off" and that's official.

Anonymous said...

Great reading--BUT here is the point. As long as the MOD are there & we know the reasons why-don't we??!! there will be an airfield, NOT an airpoprt. So get rid of the armed 24hour armed guard? & this blight on our lives will be gone

Anonymous said...

Good point 9:12 Davies said on the BBC that manston and Lydd were irrelevant and wouldn't be developed.

Buchanan is just making up his fantasy forecasts - useful to see he's lying about night flight cover. Best if he's arrested for safety and pollution breaches.

KLM is less than half-full and not even Cargolux seems to bother any more. The sooner it closes the better.

9:27 there is no armed guard at the airport - perhaps the MOD fire training station to stop the hoses getting nicked.

Anonymous said...

Half empty KLM flights for one summer and a few trainng flights equals a closed airport. Buchanan is already skimping on the wages and safety restrictions.

If a flight goes over the town call the police.

Anonymous said...

Buchanan should be banned from being an aviation director and UK airports and jailed. Let him pollute New Zealand and see how Infratil deal with him.

Anonymous said...

Well said 6:21 and there was a plane landing at midnight last night - the airport closes at 11pm and was there fire and radar cover? Or Buchanan thought he'd just chance it?

Anonymous said...

P.24 shows Buchanan hired a consultant in Kings Hill to write this poop: chriscain40@msn.com

Maybe he doesn't know about night flight restrictions and monitoring?

Anonymous said...

http://blogs.kentonline.co.uk/post/Ferry-troubles-in-Thanet-and-Kent-misses-out-in-Labours-picks-for-Europe.aspx

Ferry secrecy - and Labour MEP candidates for Kent that don't even live in Kent.

Anonymous said...

Buchanan's email if you want to complain about overflights, night flights etc:

charles.buchanan@infratil.com

Anonymous said...

Hmmm. Looks like Steve Ladyman has some explaining to do. When the Labour council tore up the Section 52 agreement which prohibited night flying and replaced it with the Section 106, our former MP wrote to his constituents telling them the Section 106 offered the best possible protection. Looks like this wasn't true.

Anonymous said...

There's nothing especially wrong with the 106- TDC and Infratil just ignore it and then refuse FOI on fines, pollution, cancer etc.

For example, wasn't there a plane yesterday over the beaches that wasn't KLM? Was there the required fire cover on a Sunday? Fined?

Ask Charles: charles.buchanan@infratil.com

Anonymous said...

The airport does not close at 11pm.. it closes after the last arrival or departure.. fire cover and ATC remain in opening hours..
and you don't need radar .. as I keep saying ..
Flights over the beach and town are NOT illegal either ..

Anonymous said...

Every flight in to or out of the UK fly's over a beach somewhere !!!