Monday, August 27, 2007




Manston flight misery?

Looking through my local newspapers this week, it would appear that some of our local councilors have gone plane crazy in their attempts to stir up, controversy over Manston Airport.

For whatever reason it seems that labour councilors, have little constructive to say on local issues at the moment so, they appear to have alighted on the subject of training flights at Manston Airport.

I would imagine that Infratil the owners of Manston Airport, are having a tough enough job in promoting the Airport, and need whatever revenue they can obtain.

The vast majority of Thanet population welcome Infratil's efforts to promote Manston Airport as a viable business, it seems rather petty that Thanet labour group, are attempting to score minor political points over such a sensitive economic asset.

Still since most senior labour politicians at national level are oblivious to the real issues in this country, is it any wonder that labour politicians further down the food chain here in Thanet conveniently forget that in the past Manston has been busier and noisier.

Reading one letter from councilor Clive Hart, in this weekend's Kent on Sunday, which described how a very large and noisy passenger jet had repeatedly flown a very low flight path, over Cliftonville, I was rather disappointed that he wasn't able to go on, and described how chimney pots had been knocked off roofs and tyre marks left on the bowling greens at Cliftonville.

Instead of concerning themselves with a few tiresome flights over Manston, Thanet's local labour party ought to have bigger fish to fry, maybe they could take a look at how the Tories appear to be assisting in the destruction of dreamland as a leisure facility and creating a new traffic bottleneck into Margate.

And if labour, would like to see just how agitated the people of Thanet are, over Manston I suggest they take a gander at Eastcliff Richards online petition, whingeing about training flights and note that to date only 27 people have bothered to sign it (since the 6th of July).

PS I wonder if oasis airlines have considered, having passengers on their training flights, since take off and landing are the most exciting parts of any flight

8 comments:

  1. Well 78 people voted in the 7-day poll which has just closed on my blog, and 73% of them regarded the training flights as a nuisance (79% if you include the ones who couldn't hear themselves think).

    Admittedly the turnout for my Downing Street petition (click here to sign) has been a little disappointing. But it's running until next year, and I haven't even started campaigning yet.

    Mark my words, this story isn't going to go away as easily as you and Sandy would like!

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  2. Sorry ECR as a test I tried voting on your poll a few times, with the same computer, and was able to register at least four votes. So how many of the 78 nuisance votes were mutiple votes?

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  3. I voted at least ten times myself couldn't see a fellow blogger ignored.

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  4. I really hope Infratil eventually pull out of Manston, not because I have any issue with them or the airport, it was noisy during the Cold War years with Jets taking off when as a school boy I lived in fear of being blown into constituent atoms. What I'd love to see is Infratil pull out, take their potential wealth creation with them and watch all these whinging twats moan even more. Then with a disused airport to see the whole ruddy lot built on with resiential and business park premises and listen to the howls of more (the same) whingers as HGVs thunder up from Ramsgate Docks. A business park at Manston would attract many more ferries and these idiots will moan even more. HA bloody HA.

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  5. For once ECR isn't taking the piss, sounds a nerve has been touched. How do you expect to be taken seriously?

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  6. Of course, Tony, you were the one who did one of your classic face-changes over the noise from local train horns - eventually agreeing with Roger Gale. So a train horn is intrusive, in your book, but not a 400 tonne jumbo flying low?

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  7. I'm not entirely sure anon 8.58am has grasped the plot. In fact one would have to question whether he or she has any kind of grip on reality. As I've said many times, I'm not arguing against:

    1. Flights to Benidorm, or anywhere else for that matter.
    2. Other light or even heavy aircraft taking off and landing when they're flying to/from a destination.
    3. Maintenance, knackering old planes, whatever.
    4. Light aircraft, private jets etc. doing circuits.

    Clearly you do not live in Ramsgate, or, as 73% of Ramsgatonians have voted, you would find constant training flights by 747s a nuisance.

    That said, if Infratil can't keep the airport viable without these nuisance flights, which seems likely as there's bugger-all else happening there, then yes, I would rather see it close.

    As for the port, I'd be delighted to see traffic increasing, as indeed it currently is. We have the facilities in place to cope with increased traffic there, such as the superb access road, and plenty of space in the port. Bring it on!

    And good point, anon 1.26pm about mein host being a nimby when it suits him!

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  8. To be fair to "mein host"(not sure why I should be), the issue was that he could not see why people were complaining about the horns on the new trains - a complaint led by Roger Gale. He and "Mrs Me" - how egocentric is that - were then having a riverside walk near a railway line, they heard the noise and decided it was/is intrusive. He then cosied up to the MP. Strange that he can find that noise a nuisance, but a low flying jumbo... Perhaps he thinks it's a sausage.

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