Kent is finally joined by air to the rest of Europe. EUjet’s new low cost services got off to a flying start yesterday when the first flight - a Fokker-100 - took off from Kent International Airport at Manston, at 6.15am for Dublin. It marked the start of a service that is set to boost east Kent and turn Kent at last into an aviation hub. It has already brought 300 new jobs to Thanet and there could be 100 more over the next 18 months.
Flights on day one were 75 per cent full, with more than 600 passengers flying to Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Dublin, Nice and Girona. A smaller number flew back to Manston, reflecting the lack of marketing effort by EUjet at the destination airports. By the end of the year, EUjet will be flying to 22 destinations including Prague, Madrid, Milan, Palma, Malaga, Turin, Edinburgh and Manchester.
[Jun 2004] Consultants have concluded there is the potential to develop Herne Bay pier into a major attraction that could help regenerate the town as a thriving seaside resort. However, their report makes it clear that there is no prospect of attracting sufficient public or private funding, in the foreseeable future, to restore the full three-quarter-mile long pier.
[May 2004]"help regenerate Herne Bay as a thriving seaside town with good employment opportunities for local people"
[Mar 2004] Consultants working on the study into the feasibility of rebuilding Herne Bay pier are asking local residents about the type of facility they would like to see and how it would benefit the town. A special website and email address has been set up to allow the public to make suggestions and put forward ideas for any new pier.
[Feb 2004] Consultants have been appointed by the city council to carry out a feasibility study into the rebuilding of Herne Bay pier. PMP Consultants, a specialist leisure consultancy firm, have been selected from the three high quality tenders the city council received. The council will be meeting with the company next week to discuss the study in detail and agree its timescale.
Airport planners have been accused of using out of date facts to ground Manston's chances of easing the looming capacity crisis. They dismissed Thanet's aviation jewel in a couple of paragraphs in the SERAS report that included a controversial airport at Cliffe marshes in a list of options.
But Wiggins Group has told the Government that its advisers overlooked the huge potential of Manston. In its official response to an inquiry into the future development of air transport, Wiggins said the consultants only visited the airport in 1999. Wiggins claimed they took no account of the expert study by Arthur D Little in 2001 suggesting that Manston had the potential to grow into a "sizeable" airport.
Manston Airport has taken a step into the big league by unveiling an £8 million apron and taxiway. Aviation minister David Jamieson officially opened the 10 acres of concrete by cutting a ceremonial ribbon. The new facility can take more and larger aircraft under a master plan that could see £150 million invested in the Thanet airport, including a new terminal and fast rail links with London over the next 10 years.
These plans could see jobs rise from 400 to 6,000, and passenger numbers soar to thee million within five years. Talks are already well advanced with low-cost airlines to operate scheduled services and a deal could be finalised by the end of the year.
Information services for Herne Bay's visitors and residents were improved last week when the town's two visitor information centres combined into one, at the Bandstand. By closing the William Street centre and concentrating its resources on one centre, at the Bandstand, the city council can provide a much higher standard of service.
Council chiefs are demanding urgent talks with ministers after reports that the Government is considering building a new airport for London on the north Kent marshes near Cliffe. According to a report in the Financial Times, Transport Secretary Stephen Byers is weighing up the idea of an airport at Cliffe and the Isle of Grain to cope with additional air traffic over the next 20 years. The leaders of both Medway and Kent County Council are furious at the prospect.