Yikes! Despite Sir Roger's Wind's best efforts to talk the airport up with rumours of a mystery 'consortium', it seems that existing users are voting with their feet and heading swiftly for the emergency exits.
The only scheduled passenger services, operated by KLM, are unavailable on the airline's website as of Wednesday 9th April. And from next Monday, Saudia Cargo will no longer be running its twice weekly round trips between Manston, Kenya and Saudi Arabia, according to the Kent Messenger. Cargolux are also rumoured to be tanking up and taking off for pastures new in the very near future.
Meanwhile, another airport business has been overheard in one of the local pubs discussing its imminent and permanent departure from Manston.
So Sir Rodge had better hurry up and ride to the rescue, otherwise there won't be anything worth saving. Mind you, if he had an ounce of business sense, he would have known he was backing a loser 15 years ago!
73 comments:
4 x 747s in today, KLM will be crew training tomorrow.. this is all a small blip before we get back on track :-)
It looks like more than a small blip to me. It looks like the life support is being rapidly turned off.
KLM and the freight carriers will come back ...
I promised on here before this all started that the airport and KLM will still be here at Christmas.. I stick by that statement..
Fancy a tenner on it?
Miserere would scan to Pleasurama
That is if you are still struggling with the old Queen in Barcelona.
If TDC is suing itself over EKO then how does the civil procedure rule on alternative dispute resolution work? The rule that requires both parties to explore dispute resolution before taking up court time.
I happen to know the answer. Clive has to have a word with himself. Hope this was helpful.
£10 to TAG pet rescue.. you're on ..
Excellent! So just to be clear, for you to win the bet, KLM and all the cargo operators who are now pulling out will be back providing the same or increased services at Manston Airport by Christmas 2014?
Excellent news that KLM and Saudi and hopefully Cargolux are leaving.
The sooner Manston closes the better. Illegal overflights by KLM again today - what if there is a crash now?
Who are the silent RTC/TDC councillors on the Airport Committee and KiACC?
Yes..
"The sooner Manston closes the better. Illegal overflights by KLM again today - what if there is a crash now?"
The airport is currently fully operational in every aspect..
Richard that is not a bet that is an investment at evens. Give the chap some odds. 10 to one. If he is right you pay the charity £100.
I say this in the spirit of fair play not socialism (spending other people's money)
Is wee Shaun still keeping his powder dry ?
While Clive has a word with himself. Harvey golden handshake? Simes and Ann Barnes are they bestest friends again yet ?
And Sister Assumpta still at the retreat of patron saint of shipwrecks.
News doldrums then.
Ramsgate mayor meeting tomorrow Kings Theatre 7:30pm.
Vote of no confidence and full FOI and Thor mercury and Manston contamination.
Time for Change.
We need a clearout.
Just read on twitter that Tim has had a good meeting with the Vietnamese ambassador. You have to laugh although I suppose we should not mock really.
3:16 What if there is a Manston crash now?
And Manston hasn't been fully operational in years - either to capacity or safety measures. Is there still fire cover 24/7?
See the ambassador must have left as Tim is off again on his favourite topic. What if there is a crash now then, Tim? Would it be any different to last week?
No, only fire cover when it is open, which isn't at set times every day. It depends on what is due.
Yes, yes, yes, operating illegally for years .. of course.. nobody seemed concerned enough to complain elsewhere but on here though eh?
Maybe they were legal after all then..
Still one 747 due, 3 have been, all perfectly legit and legal :-)
Anon 4:07, what a disbeliever you are. The Vietnam ambassador often visits Tim on a Tuesday to take advantage of the local Pizza Hut 2 for 1 offer.
Does the ambassador spoil him with Ferrero Rochers?
"The sooner Manston closes the better. Illegal overflights by KLM again today - what if there is a crash now?"
But surely there are flights over the whole of the UK every day. Any of those could crash.
Maybe we should close EVERY airport and there will be no chance of crashes at all then!!!
So, barely six months ago, Roger Gale's mystery consortium weren't interested in Manston. They could have bought it for a quid but they didn't. Now, they are riding to the rescue. I have only one question; Is this saviour backed by private or public money?
LOF Air Wing a new organisation earmarked for Manston
You read it here first folks. A big base for privatised air force part of civil defence. Now come on none of you have heard of them have you ? Their paintball combat training area will be open to public to raise funds. A local LOF Air Commodore will be appointed.
Anon 6.02 yes its truly amazing that this consortium can defy all the odds, come up with the cash to buy at a price that must now be at least £20 millions, and most amazing of all run the airport at a profit where even the boss that revitalized Southend Airport could not with a crack team see any future for Manston as an airport.
6:30 is clearly worried and ECR is suggesting Tim is fed Ferrero Rochers. I understand he exchanges them for Thai pork balls, a delicacy at the Vietnamese embassy.
You keep banging on about safety and Fire Cover????? why what has fire cover got to do with things?.....
I see that over on Thanet Life, Little Willy (no I don't mean…) Epps is blaming the airport's demise on Labour, and criticisng Will Scobie. Of course he's entitled to, but given that his own credibility and integrity are completely shot through, I doubt anyone is going to take him seriously.
And he is simply repeating - parrot-like - what Moores and Holyer have said separately. I suspect he has no original thoughts of his own.
7:40, I and others might take you more seriously if you had the guts to put a name to your allegations. Come to think of it, if you disagree with my comments on Thanet Life why not answer them there. Perhaps Simon Moores might not publish your unsubstantiated insults.
4:14 There is no all-day fire cover at Manston? And the airport closes in the 7-11 operating hours?
And the staff are not paid when it's closed- so presumably they are just part-time/piecework jobs by the hour?
What fire cover would there be for the midnight flight the other week? Or a flight that wasn't scheduled like KLM or Saudi?
Moores doesn't publish anything on the 0% fraud either and that's a fact. So he heeds a party cheerleader like Epps.
Fire cover is there for every aircraft movement and I know this because I am one of the fire fighters.
5:35 of course there are flights over airports and crashes too. It's just the likelihood will increase at a failed like Manston won't it?
7:59 you're there every day all day?
Were you there at midnight for the takeoff the other week?
Is he there now in case a plane decides to land?!
What a sad loss it will be if Manston closes because of some overpaid wrinkly Scottish trout and dare I say , the historic negative attitudes of crummy Thanet left-wing losers who are always showing us their enlarged tonsils on any positive issue you may care to mention . I have learnt a considerable amount since I came to Thanet in 1997, full of optimism about the future, ferries and European links, airport growing and creating jobs, high -speed train , and the inward invesment all that would bring. The conclusion I've arrived at some 17 years later is that Thanet people just want loadsa beer and burgers,a rickety old wooden clapped-out funfair at Margate,and an eminently Shacey artist whose remarkable talent is commented on daily in the monkey house of London Zoo. It would appear that Manston has fallen under the spell of the No No No's. It seems that the only sort of change Thanet losers want, is after paying for the next round ! See ya laiha !
4:14 says there isn't always fire cover...
Yes like I said every aircraft is provided with fire cover. And the midnight departure tomorrow will also have fire cover as will every aircraft movement .
So there's a scheduled departure at midnight tomorrow...?
What is it/cargo?
4:14 says there isn't always fire cover...
What's your name midnight Manston fireman? You're on duty tomorrow?
Timmy boy is in full cry again I see and back to his old favourite of no fire cover. I am with 8:01 on Thanet's negative numpties for, like him, I came here in the late 90's when it seemed full of promise. That's before the no to everything local mode became apparent with 'Time for Change' Tim the King (or should that by MP and Mayor candidate) of the whingers.
No not always but for every single aircraft movement there is
"Mr Gale refused to give any details of the potential buyer.
"I believe them to be reputable, I believe them to have experience and I believe them to have the money but I have no proof of any of that," he added."
Absolutely feckin useless.
Politicians, through fear of being seen to be doing nothing, are perfectly comfortable making complete fools of themselves.
If a flight is known be be late tomorrow then the staff will be informed and will be there for it.. Fire, ATC ,the lot..
Staff are on shift for all arrivals and departures.. why on earth wouldn't they be?
Forget the 7-11 .. They can start earlier or finish later .
You asked if fire cover was 24/7. No, it isn't. Only available when the airport is open ..
Fire cover will be at the appropriate level for the operating aircraft 1 hour before the airport is open and 15 minutes after the last departure or until the departing aircraft has reached its destination, whichever is soonest...... CAP 168 chapter 8, the aerodrome and will be audited by the CAA against this document.....no aircraft depart or arrive without Fire Cover.
Did you never watch Trumpton. When there was a fire they would all slide down the pole, board the engine and set off through the streets to a jaunty little tune. Isn't this what happens when a plane is due (or are you suggesting that they'd have to fish Barney McGrew out of the boozer to be in attendance?)
Nope but watched field of dreams though......the airport owners didn't build it and the airlines didn't come.
8:24 talking nonsense. How would a flight be known to be late tomorrow? The 7-11 airport operating hours isn't forgotten or to be ignored either. Especially if there's a crash. Just as well the airport is closing...
...and useful to find out who the fire cover is for these illegal midnight flights.
8:18 there is fire cover for every aircraft, but the firemen aren't on duty through the whole day?
So they're paid off after a flight and then turn up later in the day for the next flight?
Can anyone uncover the 99yr Covenant that the RAF made for No Housing, when they initially sold the airport?
@10:10 It's not rocket science... all movements of aircraft are planned. The amount of fire fighters required on the airfield depends on the type of aircraft, the bigger the aircraft the more fire fighters are needed, smaller aircraft fewer fire fighters.
If aircraft A is scheduled to depart at 06:00 fire fighters are on station ready at 05:00. If there is no other movements that day the crew can be stood down 15 minutes after the plane departs.
If aircraft B is scheduled to arrive at 18:30 hours and it is on schedule Fire Crews are on station and ready at 17:3o.
If aircraft C is scheduled to land at 22:30 but due to a technical incident is actually delayed by 1 hour the fire fighters may be requested to return to station at 22:30 and not at 21:30 as expected, the plane is delayed, the crew isn't needed until 1 hour before it lands.
There are never any large commercial aircraft movements that do not have the fire cover they need on the airfield. Fire fighters are professionals, they have the ability to close an airfield if they cannot provide adequate staff, unlike the majority of staff at Manston.
Town Councillor Epps, all my comments about you have been fully substantiated - in the strands on here headed "Faecebook" and "Ramsgate Prices Soar as Airport Plummets". You have chosen to run away from them in a perverse act of denial. Your only fall-back now is to criticise anonymous blogging. That doesn't make you look serious, principled or even half decent.
Add to that your foul mouth ("Go **** yourself" was one of your little treats) and sad pre-occupation with trying to "name" those who blog anonymously - and persistently getting it wrong - and it's not looking very good for you.
And by the way, this is possibly not the appropriate local blog on which to try and portray Councillor Moores as a paragon of virtue. Just a thoughts, Little Willy Epps.
"How would a flight be known to be late tomorrow?"
Maybe because it is delayed already and they know it will be setting off late to Manston?
By late, they mean later than the normal scheduled time it arrives.
Why did Steve Higgins close the Stop Manston Expansion Group? We should be told!
You really are a weirdo, Tim. You make a statement on a posting and suddenly that becomes substantiated fact in your eyes.
If you really want to accuse me of something, come out in the open and I will happily have the debate with you. Simply stating anonymously that I have chosen to run away proves nothing. Whilst it might have escaped your clouded notice, I am still here.
8:28, Lack of genuine support! Pressure groups never succeed when the entire membership wishes to remain anonymous, as this blog proves!
You can try and twist and turn, Town Councillor Epps, but your actions, behaviour and attitude have been laid bare on this blog. I have made the accusation, proved it to other readers' satisfaction, and have shown you to be the blowhole you are.
As for my identity, you have been told time over time that I am not this "Tim" about whom you obsess - get over him and find a new interest - but you persist in perpetuating this (further) lie.
I think you should restrict yourself to Thanet Life. Your twisted morality fits better there. But of course there is no anonymous blogging for you to fall back on when you have been exposed. What a dilemma for you.
Hilarious! http://thanetstar.com/article/was-manston-airport-always-doomed
It didn't make me laugh ..
The comments made me laugh.
Perhaps somebody ought to light a fire under the posteriors of the TDC whilst the airport is closed and there are no fire crews available to extinguish the conflagration. That might concentrate their thinking on night flights etc.
A sound economy needs thriving businesses, and businesses need the right environment in which to flourish. The TDC needs to assist all it can by reducing restrictions to trade as much as possible. A thriving airport will bring its own prosperity to Thanet, something sadly missing at the moment.
Sadly, even night flights would not produce a 'thriving airport', Mr B-of-B. It's had 15 years x 18 hours per day to prove its worth, and it hasn't.
Night flights aren't even illegal, actually, despite what anyone says, as the council has no powers to stop them, as demonstrated by the number of 'after hours' flights we already put up with here in Ramsgate.
ECR-for once I have to agree with you, the day light operation has failed to bring in the required numbers and airlines to work, there are hundreds of airports throughout the world that operate within the restrictions of daylight hours or nothing after 10 or before 6.
Sadly the case with Manston will always be once bitten twice shy, EU Jet did kind of prove there is a market for flights, CAA stats reflect this, but a cheap bucket and spade route is what was needed not KLM with transit times, some as long as 7 hours.
Job losses are sad but unfortunately I cannot see a working airport in 2 months time, airlines are already booked into alternate airports as of the 10th April.
Tim at 9:27, your identity is known to me also and I would find it hard to imagine that there is anyone on the Thanet blogging scene who does not recognise your feeble comments.
Yet again you demonstrate, with your attack on William Epps, that you seem to think that you only have to write something and it becomes fact. Not so, chummy, for most of what you write is a but a figment of your own over active imagination.
And on that bombshell...
I think someone should research Little Willy Epps to see if he has a long lost son called Tim. That would explain his obsession with the name. I can see him now, hunched over the keyboard, staring at every contribution that challenges him - "is that you, boy, is that really you...?".
His supporters, riding in like multiple Tontos, may be trying to help him in his search and attempt to deflect the spotlight from his failings, but we'll never know if Tim in fact belongs to one of them. They are in reality as anonymous as those they condemn.
Whoa Silver!
At least William has supporters, unlike those loan losers Tim and Steve! Why don't they at least get together as a twosome, they'd make an ideal couple if Manston is converted into Ramsgate's Gay Village!
What's the story behind Tim and Steve losing their loan, Anon? And Steve could be a female - it's one of those names. That said, they may still be quite happy to hang out in a gay quarter if they have more modern attitudes than you may have.
Steve Higgins certainly doesn't look like a female!
I bow to your superior knowledge, Anon.
See Tim now has a leaflet out doing the rounds drumming up support for his campaign to be mayor in the May 2014 election. Mystified? So was I when it dropped onto my doormat for, as far as I am aware, all Thanet mayors are appointed, not elected.
Maybe Tim the Dim knows better in his strange world so I suppose all I can do is wish him well with his campaign. Perhaps he might tell us where exactly we can go and vote for him.
http://www.kentonline.co.uk/thanet_extra/news/offer-to-buy-stricken-airport-14844/
Talk about uneducated drivel I have never heard such rubbish from anyone who knows how to type on a keyboard! Fact a 4million pund offer was withdrawn as it was obviously not what ms gloag wanted so they went away and gave it some thoguth and came back with another mill making it 5mill! Another error you make is the assumption of £1 buy out if you read the public information you would know an estimated £350,000 was debt a deal was made so that the company would wipe the slate clean and start again on the books. And finally you know that the number of night flights proposed that corrupted councillor hart has been objecting too is? 3! yes 3! night flights and regardless to his petty objections to these 3 flights he has educated the people of thanet that that is every 5 minutes and that secretive talks to plan a thousand homes was planned at the north of the site! Maybe you should get your facts right before broadcasting this tosh! And yes donate £100 to TAG for my £10 bet you idiot cos I have 15,000 who say your wrong!
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