7 May 2014
Manston Airport is set to close with the loss of nearly 150 jobs, it has been announced.
The owners of the airfield confirmed the move in a statement, as no “viable alternative” to closure had been found.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Manston Airport said, “Following a meeting with staff this morning, I can confirm the collective consultation has failed to identify a viable alternative that would allow the airport to remain open.
“Proposals put forward by staff were carefully considered by the management and owners but these proposals would still have required ongoing substantial losses be subsidised and therefore were not viable.
“In the absence of other options, the decision has been taken to close the airport on the May 15.
“Individual consultation will now take place with all staff members who will be supported through this process.
“This has been a very difficult time for everyone who works at the airport and we would like to thank all staff for their professionalism over the last few weeks.”
The airport was bought for £1 by Stagecoach founder Ann Gloag in November, who launched a consultation on its closure in February. The consultation came amid estimates the airport had been losing up to £10,000 a day. Gloag is understood to have turned down an offer from US firm RiverOak Investment, which is based in Stamford, Connecticut. The company said it had $350m (£206m) in assets and a successful track record of turning around “troubled operating and real estate assets” and had made an offer to acquire 100% of the shares in the company that owned Manston Airport.
In a statement, the company said “RiverOak is distressed to learn of the announced closure of Manston today and remains willing to engage with all parties to achieve a solution which allows the airport to continue operating and preserves the jobs of its staff.”
Mark Girdler, owner of TG Aviation based at Manston, explained to FLYER, “With the viable offer that was on the table, we don’t understand why it hasn’t been taken, as that’s an option to keep the airfield open and secure it’s future as an airfield. Once it’s been shut, it will be very difficult for the facility to operate as an airfield again.
“We have a 75 lease on the land we operate from at the airport, and at the moment there’s still 50 years remaining on that lease. All the buildings and facilities we operate from are our own and we’ve begun working with solicitors to see what we can do to challenge this and get what we’re owed – the owners absolutely shouldn’t be considering closing the airport when there’s an option to keep it open and operational, with a buyer still interested.”
“At the moment, if Manston closes, our plan is to relocate to Pent Farm, a farmstrip near Folkestone, with other operations possibly from Lydd Airport, but at the moment, we still have to hope that we can remain here. It may be a one percent chance, but we’re going to fight this.”
<a href=’http://www.manstonairport.com/’ target=’_blank’>www.manstonairport.com</a>
<a href=’http://www.tgaviation.com ‘ target=’_blank’>www.tgaviation.com </a>
