Plymouth City Airport

[TheLocalYokel]

Plymouth City Airport (IATA: PLH, ICAO: EGHD) closes today.

However, a group of business people and others calling themselves VIABLE are to talk to the city council with a view to establishing a 'world class international gateway' airport on the site.

VIABLE believes that £30 million would turn the airport into a facility that would have links with such airports as Amsterdam and Paris Cdg and 'over 30 other international airports'. They would base it on the London City Airport model.

They would extend the runway to nearly 1400 metres in length and envisage up to 1 mppa in time.

They didn't mention the flying pigs though. I wonder why not.

 

[Aviador]

Re: Plymouth Airport

That's very sad news. Has there been any more talk of it reopening or are Tesco and Asda queuing up to buy the land.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Re: Plymouth Airport

[textarea]Plan to revive city's airport

A triple-phase business plan to reopen Plymouth City Airport and have 500,000 passengers using it within five years has been drawn up.

But the Viable group, which has now become an incorporated company, says its vision for the site to become an international air hub hinges on current land holder Sutton Harbour Group relinquishing its 150-year lease. Viable's plan does, however, envisage the runway being extended, a new terminal built and some land turned over for lucrative commercial use to turn the airport into a "gateway".[/textarea]

http://www.thisissomerset.co.uk/Plan-re ... story.html

I still think this is romantic nonsense. The first problem will be for the leaseholder to relinquish the 150-years lease - can't see that happening as a grace and favour offering.

But if there was a reasonable prospect of re-opening PLH, how viable would it be really?

The South West (meaning Devon, Cornwall and contiugous bits of Somerset and Dorset) is not populous and not a vibrantly economic area, despite pockets around Exeter (especially) and Plymouth.

Already there is Exeter Airport at one end of this sub-region and Newquay Airport at the other. Both have had torrid times in recent years with EXT seeing its passenger numbers decrease by 30% and NYQ by 50%.

Where would the passengers come from to feed a third airport?

Ideally, there should have been one airport for the entire sub-region more centrally placed than EXT and NQY. There was a plan to build a new airport at South Hams, not far from Plymouth, for the entire sub-region but the idea was kicked into touch by the 2003 Aviation White Paper.

I never like seeing airports close but a degree of realism has to be recognised.

 

[Aviador]

Re: Plymouth Airport

I agree with what you say ThoLocalYokel but we all said similar about Coventry airport a couple of years back. It would seem as long as the owner is prepared to put their money where their mouth is, the idea might just come to fruition. It is highly unlikely like you say but like Coventry airport, a 'new' airport for Plymouth would need to adopt a new approach if it is to succeed in the long term.

 

[Elmdon80slad]

Plymouth Airport Thread

I have just joined a group lobying for the re-opening of Plymouth Airport, I was amazed to see this airport close due to a biased report on Its usefulness, and seeing as Plymouth Is the 15th largest city In England, I believe It justifies Its need for a decent airport, and expansion to allow charter flights that will bring more custum to to this lovely city.

 

[Aviador]

Sheffield used to be the largest European city without an airport.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I have just joined a group lobying for the re-opening of Plymouth Airport, I was amazed to see this airport close due to a biased report on Its usefulness, and seeing as Plymouth Is the 15th largest city In England, I believe It justifies Its need for a decent airport, and expansion to allow charter flights that will bring more custum to to this lovely city.

Is that VIABLE or are there other groups lobbying for PLH's re-opening as well?

You will know that Sutton Harbour Holdings obtained a 150-year lease from Plymouth City Coucil to operate the airport. What many people didn't know apparently was that there was a so-called Armegeddon clause in the agreement that allowed SHH to close the airport if it became unprofitable.

That's what they did. Again, you will know that many in the Plymouth area, and some beyond for that matter, are extremely sceptical and believe the airport was allowed to be run down.

There may be truth in that but the recession undoubtedly played a part as well.

PLH was hugely constricted in the type of aircraft that could operate with effectively the Dash 8-300 the largest commercially. It was never a busy airport and around 115,000 per annum is the highest total I can find going back through CAA records. I know that some supporters quote 150,000 but that included 40,000 transit passengers because Air Southwest operated many of their flights 'double dropping' at both PLH and NQY, hence both PLH and NQY saw a lot of passengers passing through but not spending any money.

The two airports in the South West that are still operating, EXT and NQY, have both seen passenger numbers tumble in recent years, with NQY losing over 50% to a current total of well under 200,000 per annum and EXT 30% to just under 700,000 per annum. NQY is owned by Cornwall County Council and has been turning in annual operational losses, and needs a £5 per passenger 'development' charge to help with the financial overheads. Perversely, it has a 9,000 foot runway - now if that was at Plymouth!

As in many other parts of the country the airports of the South West (meaning Devon, Cornwall and neighbouring parts of south Somerset and west Dorset) would not be built where they are if we were starting from scratch (the wider south west Britian particularly suffers in this regard with Bristol and Cardiff airports also poorly sited).

I really can't see where the passengers are coming from for three airports in the South West. As already noted, EXT and especially NQY are struggling. A third airport would dilute an already small market even more.

Ideally the South West should have one airport centrally situated which means the Plymouth area which is also the largest centre of population. South Hams was mooted a decade ago but the then government would not entertain it.

So we are where we are.

I've read the VIABLE website and I admire their enthusiasm though naturally everything is presented to support their argument and at times it's too obviously over-cooked.

Nevertheless, the romantic in me would love them to be successful though the realist in me says it's a speculative long shot.

 

[lysander]

Current investigations in connection with the possible purchase and re-opening of Sheffield City reveal that some aircraft that had previously been stated ,by those preparing a highly biased report,could not operate from the airport in reality could.

Bombardier has provided detailed data confirming that the Q400 could operate with the usual fuel reserves and a 70 pax load. It may well be that a more detailed analysis of operating data, as was undertaken for us ,will reveal that it may be a possibility from Plymouth also.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

[textarea]Government won't step in to save Plymouth City Airport

The Government has refused pleas to rescue the closed Plymouth City Airport, says council leader Tudor Evans.

Transport Minister Simon Burns has told city chiefs there is no need for an airport in Plymouth and people should make the most of Exeter Airport, Mr Evans told a meeting of the full city council yesterday.

Mr Evans and council chief executive Tracey Lee met Mr Burns in London last week to make the case for government intervention to save the airport, which was closed in December 2011 by its operator, Sutton Harbour Holdings.[/textarea]
Full report at: http://www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/Governm ... story.html

No surprise in this really. I wonder how many people really expected, rather than hoped, that the government would intervene.

At least VIABLE now knows that if the airport is to be saved it will have to be with private money as the local council is unlikely to contribute.

 

[lysander]

When we tried to interest the Government in what was happening with Sheffield City we got absolutely no where!

Enter a couple of potential buyers and we now have politicians jumping out of the woodwork all suddenly interested!

 

[Elmdon80slad]

Does anyone know If there are any aircraft still at Plymouth that could be photographed, especialy private planes, perhaps these are still thier but hangared, as on google maps current edition It shows a few cessna's etc on the grass areas.


E.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

PLH ceased to be operational in December 2011 and to all intents and purposes it's currently no longer an airfield. There are serious attempts being made to try to have this position reversed, though it's not likely to happen quickly, if at all.

The runway is certainly closed but whether it's physically possible to use it I don't know, but insurance issues might intrude if even a non-commercial, light aircraft tried using it in the current circumstances.

That being so one can only imagine there would be unlikely to be any aircraft 'stored there' as they might well be trapped 'for the duration' unless they were moved by road which is a possibility I suppose.

I can't give a definitive answer though. Hopefully, someone will read this thread and be more certain of the present situation. I'd be interested to know too.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

[textarea]New campaign group founded in bid to save Plymouth City Airport

A campaign group is working to keep raising cash to help bring the airport back to life.

Friends of Plymouth Airport say they are the "voice of the people of Plymouth" when it comes to getting planes flying into the airport in Roborough once again.

The group have been born out of Viable, a consortium of people and businesses which have an interest in the airport being reopened. The Friends of Plymouth Airport will act as the fundraising and public campaigning arm of the movement.

At a meeting held at The Future Inn on Wednesday evening, FPA – which are getting ready for an official launch – said that they were raising money in the event of legal proceedings.

Current leaseholders, Sutton Harbour Holdings, had threatened to take Viable to court in December over comments made on its website. A spokeswoman for FPA explained that the money raised could be used to fight any legal action.[/textarea]
Full report at: http://www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/New-cam ... z2SA8Kg6lG

 

[lysander]

When Sheffield closed all the aircraft based there were told to leave and as soon as the CAA had withdrawn its license large "X" were painted on the runway to warn any flyer from attempting a landing!

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Renewed calls for Plymouth City Airport to be reopened

http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/Storm-g ... story.html

This is one of many reports calling for Plymouth's airport to be reopened following the closure of the only rail link from Exeter westwards. The devastating weather in the South West in recent weeks left the main line between Exeter and Plymouth with rails dangling over a chasm after mountainous seas had washed away the land beneath. Other parts of the track in the vicinity of Dawlish in south Devon also suffered significant damage.

Network Rails says it will be at least six weeks before the line can be reopened which may be optimistic, especially in view of more potentially damaging weather forecast for the days ahead.

Devon, west of Exeter which includes Plymouth, and Cornwall have poor transport links by any measure. There is no motorway, just one small airport (in terms of flights and passengers although it has a long runway) at Newquay and now no railway.

Brunel was a forward-thinking genius in many ways but he fell down twice: with his broad gauge and with his idea of an atmospheric railway with no necessity for locomotives along the stretch of track by the sea that has been in the news this week.

For a passenger not in a hurry the rail journey between Exeter and Plymouth is a delight passing as it does alongside the Exe estuary and then along the English Channel sea wall for many miles burrowing in and out of tunnels before attacking the great ramparts on the edge of Dartmoor which provide spectacular climbs up the steep banks for rail enthusiasts. It's not good for business people or others in a hurry because the 40-mile Exeter-Plymouth journey takes an hour.

Until Beeching in the early 1960s there was an alternative line between Exeter and Plymouth built by the London and South Western Railway, later part of the Southern Railway after the 1922 Grouping of Britain's railways into four companies (The GWR was the only one to retain its original name), that ran through the northern parts of Dartmoor via Okehampton.

The GWR itself recognised the fragile nature of its coastal route and prepared grand plans for an inland route which would have been extremely expensive to build because of the enormous civil engineering that would have been required, including a very long tunnel at one point. It all came to nothing because of World War 2 and after that the country was near bankrupt meaning there was no money for such imaginative schemes, and by 1948 the railways were nationalised.

Returning to the present, it just would be that for the past few weeks the line north of Exeter to Taunton has been closed for major engineering works in the Whiteball tunnel, meaning that many of those rail passengers travelling from the far South West to anywhere else in the country have to be taken by bus all the way to Taunton in Somerset, except for those who can use the old LSWR route between Exeter and London Waterloo.

Whether the stark position in which the South West Peninsula now finds itself will lead to a rethink about Plymouth Airport is a moot point. Clearly, it won't help the present situation because it would take months to get it going again, and money would have to found first, a great deal of it.

 

[Aviador]

It's only when things like this happen when people realise what they're missing. It just goes to show we shouldn't rely on one mode of public transport and it just goes to show how important air links really are.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

The rail connectivity to/from Devon and Cornwall has worsened today with the closure of the old Southern Railway route between Exeter and London Waterloo because of a landslip east of Exeter. It may be closed for at least a week.

With the former Great Western main line closed for at least six weeks west of Exeter because of major sea damage and the former Great Western line between Exeter and Taunton that connects to London Paddington, Bristol, the Midlands, the North, Scotland and Wales is closed for several weeks because of planned maintenance to a tunnel, it means that there is no rail connectivity to the rest of the country from anywhere in Devon or Cornwall.

First Great Western passengers for Exeter (and further west) are being taken from London Paddington to Bristol Parkway and transferred to coaches for Exeter. Bristol Parkway is on the northern edge of Bristol but is close to the motorway network and means the congested Bristol Temple Meads station in the middle of the city can be avoided.

NQY will doubtless be very popular in the next few weeks and so would PLH had it remained open.

 

[Aviador]

I imagine the call to reopen Plymouth Airport will be gaining momentum. It's a shocking situation at the moment and the government still doesn't seem to be doing all it can to assist people. I wonder how long it will be before the governments national security committee COBRA get's a new public appointed meaning. "Can't Organise.... ?"

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I imagine the call to reopen Plymouth Airport will be gaining momentum. It's a shocking situation at the moment and the government still doesn't seem to be doing all it can to assist people. I wonder how long it will be before the governments national security committee COBRA get's a new public appointed meaning. "Can't Organise.... ?"

The politicians are now ganging up on the Environment Agency hierarchy playing the blame game.

My brother-in-law farms on Dartmoor and he has been saying for years that the rivers are blocking up because of lack of dredging or even clearing away trees when they fall into the water. Apparently it used to be fine when we had a Rivers Authority but when the Environment Agency took over a decade or two ago things went rapidly down stream, mainly it seems because the various governments of the day cut back on funding for such things.

That said, the Environment Agency found £30 million to set up a bird sanctuary on the Somerset Levels but couldn't find £5 million to put in systems that would have avoided much of of the recent flooding there.

Incidentally, the railway line between London Waterloo and Exeter seems to have reopened much quicker than anticipated although speed limits are in force. This is the old Southern Railway route. The old Great Western railway route, much the busier of the two, is still closed in several places between Plymouth and Bristol with the worst of the breaches, around Dawlish in south Devon, likely to be in place until well into March.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

[textarea]No prospect of Plymouth City Airport ever reopening, according to SHH reports

There is no prospect of Plymouth City Airport ever being reopened, according to the results of two studies commissioned by site owner Sutton Harbour Holdings and published today.

The company which bought the site then closed the airport when it became economically unviable released the results of two new reports into the city's air link this morning.

The two new studies from leading aviation experts have, according to SHH, highlighted the extent of the economic, legislative and physical barriers to a commercially sustainable airport operation ever being re-established at the former Plymouth airport site.

And SHH says the findings expose a plan by campaign group Viable to re-open the airport as "totally unrealistic".[/textarea]
Full report at: http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/prospec ... story.html

No real surprise that the operator that closed down the airport and doesn't want it reopened should have reports prepared backing its case.

In truth though, although the current weather difficulties have highlighted the far South West's poor transport connectivity, there is not the catchment size for three sustainable airports at Exeter, Newquay and Plymouth without substantial aid from the public purse.

Unfortunately for PLH it is not in Wales or Scotland where the national government would come along and buy it to prevent its closure.