Airport

A report issued today claims Plymouth City Airport could reopen.

The National Connectivity Task Force has released a report saying that, if slots into a London airport could be secured, the airport could reopen as a viable transport link to the capital.

The airport was closed in 2011 when leaseholders Sutton Harbour Holdings activated an 'Armageddon clause', convincing the council it was no longer commercially viable.

The council has said it will support reopening if a viable business plan is produced.

The report released today reads: "If slots into the UK's international hub could be found for Plymouth the mothballing of the airport could be re-considered.

"Plymouth's large cluster of maritime businesses, the university and the Tamar Science Park all have ambitions that would benefit from easier international access."

It added that improved London hub links could be "particularly significant" to the far south west "because of the absence of any realistic prospects of high-speed rail connections into the area".

The National Connectivity Task Force was established to develop proposals for how regional air links to London and the major airports serving London and the South East Region can be improved.



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Excellent hope it can come to fruition.

No chance. Exeter runs a daily regular route to London, no one would bother using it./

As above - new development all around the old airport, E*eter running daily scheduled London routes = not a chance in hell.

Without reading the article, who's banging the drum here?, or stirring the pot about this? It wouldn't near election time would it? time to spin empty BS promises if you votes for us, would it?

fecking politicians. They should all set fire to them selves with immediate effect.

Viva la Jannerlution.

Just watch spotlight houses are no trouble

I'd love to see it happen. But it'd probably need Roborough to somehow 'steal' the Gatwick slots from Exeter and/or Newquay. Then of course runway length probably becomes an issue.

The Chancellor has pledged to undertake a study into whether Plymouth City Airport.

George Osborne made the pledge as part of his Budget announcements today.

But the leaseholder of the airport, Sutton Harbour Holdings, has instantly hit back at the Chancellor for 'wasting taxpayers' money'.

Jason Schofield, chief executive of Sutton Harbour Holdings Plc, which owns the leasehold of the former Plymouth airport site, said: “Every independent report commissioned before and since the airport closed nearly three and half years ago has demonstrated beyond all doubt that it is not viable.

"Rather than waste taxpayer’s money as part of a pre-election stunt to curry favour with the electorate, we suggest the Government read those reports and, as previous operators, we are confident they will draw the same conclusion.

Why isn't it viable ?......there must be half a million people within striking distance of a Plymouth airport......plus commercial requirements of local businesses......the London stagecoach will not last forever......and another big storm could wash away the railway yet again.

The SHH Chief Exec is only interested in selling the land for housing to make millions of £££'s for SHH. I have no doubt whatsoever that this was the longterm strategy SHH took when buying the land originally. I'm just glad that PCC poo-pooed their plan. Even if the Airport isn't financially viable at present, that's not to say it won't be viable in 5, 10, or 15 years time.

zyph wrote:

Why isn't it viable ?......there must be half a million people within striking distance of a Plymouth airport......plus commercial requirements of local businesses......the London stagecoach will not last forever......and another big storm could wash away the railway yet again.

Because it won't attract any airlines, the runway is too short. You can't open an airport because the city 'needs' one, its needs to attract airlines to run routes to and from it and there isn't the demand. Exeter is a shocking airport but enough mugs want to use it to keep it open.
Newquay different kettle of fish, the Government pay Flybe to use it due to Cornwalls economic status

The runway was always this size when Brymon ran the airport.

The runway could be extended to the same length as London City Airport, without the need to acquire any additional land, I believe.

LCY is about to be expanded but its all irrelevant if no one wants to use it. There's simply no business case to re-open an airport in Plymouth

Land is earmarked for the expansion

Hugh Watt wrote:

LCY is about to be expanded but its all irrelevant if no one wants to use it. There's simply no business case to re-open an airport in Plymouth

I disagree with that Hugh, talk of the airport not being viable is only true if you don't acquire the correct slots/destinations from the airlines, granted that's not easy to do because they won't allocate them to you unless they are confident that they will be profitable which is entirely understandable but it is possible with a bit of investment and vision (sound familiar). I'm fairly certain that daily flights to London, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow or Edinburgh would be successful domestically and with a few popular holiday locations such as Spain, Portugal and Amsterdam added to the list I believe the airport could survive and maybe even thrive. I know a few taxi drivers who often get airport runs to Exeter and Bristol and occasionally even Heathrow or Gatwick.

He you had Ryanair, flybe would be grounded

Les Miserable wrote:

Hugh Watt wrote:

LCY is about to be expanded but its all irrelevant if no one wants to use it. There's simply no business case to re-open an airport in Plymouth

I disagree with that Hugh, talk of the airport not being viable is only true if you don't acquire the correct slots/destinations from the airlines, granted that's not easy to do because they won't allocate them to you unless they are confident that they will be profitable which is entirely understandable but it is possible with a bit of investment and vision (sound familiar). I'm fairly certain that daily flights to London, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow or Edinburgh would be successful domestically and with a few popular holiday locations such as Spain, Portugal and Amsterdam   added to the list I believe the airport could survive and maybe even thrive. I know a few taxi drivers who often get airport runs to Exeter and Bristol and occasionally even Heathrow or Gatwick.

Exactly. If you can't get Airlines to use an Airport, the airport isnt viable and there is absolutely not a cats chance in hell of Ryanair operating routes from Plymouth. Bristol had to jump through incredible hoops to get them to buy slots.

PLH wasn't viable last time when it was running 5 or so routes. Someone would have to chuck a lot of money with no guarantee of success. Forget it.

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Here's the location of all UK airports with international flights. The second picture is a rather interesting image showing the UK as drawn based on population density. The southwest is very much an outlier compared with the bulk of the UK and the population of the Southwest simply will not support a viable business model for an additional airport so close to Exeter's. The only areas in the UK with two airports within similar distance of each other are in zones of much higher population (and business) density.

Resurrecting Plymouth's airport is a waste of time and money.

Heathrow sets aside £10million to help reopen Plymouth City Airport

The company behind Heathrow has added to growing speculation that Plymouth airport may be set to reopen.

Following the Chancellor’s announcement that the Government is planning a study into the future of the mothballed site, Heathrow has announced a ‘package of commitments’ to kickstart a re-opened Plymouth airport.

But leaseholder Sutton Harbour Holdings branded the bid to reopen the site “a lost cause”.

The package includes a review of how much Heathrow would charge an operator to land and take-off on flights between Plymouth and the capital.

and it includes a commitment to work in partnership with the airport, Plymouth City Council and Plymouth Chamber of Commerce to jointly-approach airlines for new routes.

Tim Jones, chairman of the Devon and Cornwall Business Council, said: “This highly attractive proposal deserves a very serious consideration but there is a significant concern about how far it would go because of the legacy cost of reopening the airport from maintenance to new kit and planes to staffing.”

Independent research by Quod, commissioned by Heathrow and based on economic analysis by the Airports Commission, shows an expanded Heathrow would benefit the South West, with the region expected to receive up to £10 billion in economic growth and 12,300 new jobs.

The commitment to support Plymouth would come into force if Heathrow is granted permission to expand.

After expansion, Heathrow will:

Establish a new Heathrow Route Development Fund. £10 million in start-up capital for airlines to support five new routes for three years where the market doesn’t initially support them.

Work with government to re-designate Public Service Obligation (PSO) routes to Heathrow.

John Holland-Kaye, Heathrow CEO, said: “We’re ready to connect the South West to global growth. We have been listening to businesses, politicians and now to the National Connectivity Task Force, and today’s announcement shows that we have a plan to deliver what Britain needs.

“Only Heathrow can connect all of Britain to global growth. That’s why we are best for Britain and backed by Britain. Let’s get on with it.”

Jason Schofield, chief executive of Sutton Harbour Holdings plc, which owns the leasehold of the former Plymouth airport site, said: “This is the latest salvo in the ongoing debate about airport capacity in the South East and it suits Heathrow to promise the earth given that a crunch decision on a third runway is just months away.

“Plymouth’s demise was not about lack of capacity into the South East, it was about chronic lack of demand.

“No airline operator was able to run a sustainable operation out of Plymouth in the last 15 years, even when there was a connection to Heathrow, and the airport has so many constraints that the prospect of it ever reopening is fanciful.

“Heathrow’s promise of a route development fund is predicated on a third runway being built, which is at least a decade away even if it is chosen as the preferred option.

“Heathrow should be supporting our existing regional airports like Exeter, Newquay and Bristol rather than undermine them and give false hope by suggesting it can resurrect a lost cause

Its Ten Million for a Heathrow development fund not a Plymouth Airport fund, Heathrow is saying - give us a new runway and we will chuck some money into a fund to attract users, somehow the Herald has turned it into a Ten Million pound fund for Plymouth Airport.

The Herald yet again twisting a national story to make it sound relevant to Plymouth.

If the airport isn't viable now it doesn't mean that it should be in ten or twenty years time, SHH are only leaseholders but are a development co. PCC need to protect the area that could be used for an airport in the future if we can't do it now. All the unviability arguments are supported by the SHH (a property development company) funny they don't want an airport.

To be fair PCC have protected it as an airport for something like the next twenty years I think.

This all smacks of shortsightedness in my view, maybe it isn't viable now but it seems like we are close to making an irreversible decision which would be madness. With population growth and house building at the present level we will need that airport in ten years. Also I've never got the argument that an airport at Exeter somehow services Plymouth and surrounding areas adequately.

.....and don't forget Newquay as well.....

Surely a case of the tail wagging the dog....two small places () with airports isn't enough for 250.000 people to continually travel up to 50 miles a time to fly......that is certainly a way to stunt growth in Plymouth.