Manston airport gets backing for passenger flight return

The former RAF base, which sits between Margate and Ramsgate on the Kent coast, has most recently been used as a lorry park for drivers unable to cross the channel following Brexit restrictions.

Manston is best known as a freight airport and initial plans centre on reviving cargo flights from 2025.

Before its closure to passenger flights in 2014, KLM ran a twice-daily feeder service to Amsterdam but a budget airline venture, EUJet, collapsed due to low passenger numbers.

However, developers RiverOak believe Manston could attract low-cost carriers. Director Tony Freudmann told Kent Online he was “confident” he could persuade one or more budget airlines to operate a base there.

A new parkway station at Thanet, currently under construction, could provide a bus link to the terminal.