Blackpool International Airport - ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[JayMac]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Blackpool International Airport has announced it is "likely to close" unless a buyer can be found.

A statement by the airport said if no sale agreement was reached by 7 October, the last commercial flights would take place on 15 October.

It claimed the facility has been "making a loss for a number of years".

Balfour Beatty, which bought the site in 2008, put it up for sale a month ago to end its involvement in running regional airports.

The statement said: "On 28 August 2014, we announced our intention to find a buyer for the airport operating company.

"The airport operations have been making a loss for a number of years and we are currently exploring a number of options in an attempt to secure the future of the airport."

'Surprise to us'

When the decision to sell the site was announced, the airport said it was "business as usual" and flights would continue.

But the latest statement said: "We regretfully confirm that if no agreement can be reached before 7 October 2014 which ensures the viability of its operations, then it is likely that the airport operations will close.

"In this event, we expect that the last commercial flights will take place on Wednesday, 15 October 2014."

The airport apologised and advised any affected passengers to contact their airline to confirm travel arrangements.

About 110 staff are employed at the airport, which served some 235,000 passengers last year.

[grahame]

Hmmm .... the airport's web site seems to think there's a longer term future

http://www.blackpoolinternational.com/airport/airport-information/adf

ADF
Airport Development Fee
Blackpool Airport operates an Airport Development Fee (ADF) to supplement its investment programme and secure its future as the regional airport for Lancashire and the Lake District.

Who has to pay the ADF?
All departing passengers aged 16 years and over are required to purchase a ^10
ADF ticket.

Children aged 15 years and under will require an ADF ticket but no fee will be charged.

How do I purchase my ticket?
Passengers can purchase their ADF tickets on arrival at the airport or up to six months before departure. Pay machines are located at the check-in area and cash, credit and debit cards are all accepted.

Each passengers is issued with a bar coded ticket which is scanned at the entrance to Security. Tickets should be retained and act as receipt of payment.

What has the Airport Development Fee money been spent on?
Funds from the ADF contribute to the infrastructure development and investment at Blackpool Airport. To date money has been invested on taxi-way and runways, extensions to the car parks, improvements to security and a new fire and operations centre. The airport has also upgraded the passenger amenities within the departure lounge including new carpets and toilet facilities.

The revenue is also used to develop new route opportunities for Blackpool Airport and to help fund free passenger car parking.

Where do we go from here?
The long-term vision for Blackpool Airport is to continue to provide a safe, secure and efficient regional airport for flights to and from the region.

The money collected from the ADF will assist in contributing to essential developments and Blackpool Airport would like to thank everyone for their support.

We do seem to have a consolidation of airports and ferry routes at the moment ...

[Brucey]

Sadly airlines operating from most regional airports are unable to offer the "bargain" fares available from main airports.  Fees like ADF imposed on departure from the airport do nothing to help.  It seems those that are doing well (e.g. Bournemouth) have welcomed the budget airlines (i.e. Ryanair) and offered fares that are on a par with the major airports.

Flying from a regional airport is almost always a positive experience and a totally different from the exprience you'd get in London or Manchester.

[Thatcham Crossing]

I would question the statement that Bournemouth is doing well. They are probably operating at about 25% of the capacity of the new Terminal infrastructure, and are very reliant on Ryanair, which is never a good thing for an Airport operator.

Thomson are probably the individual success story at Bournemouth. They have based an aircraft for many years now and don't seem to have too many problems operating it with high load factors all year round. They have a similar operation down the road at Exeter.

Ryanair have really cut back their Winter season operation at Bournemouth this year. The based aircraft will disappear again at the end of October and what Winter flights there are will operate in from other Ryanair bases, or on what is known in the industry as "W" patterns.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Blackpool Airport: Talks under way to secure a future for the facility


Jet2 will be transferring its Blackpool flights to Manchester from Friday

Talks are under way to try to secure a future for Blackpool Airport after its owners Balfour Beatty's announcement that it will close on 15 October.

The company said the airport has been making a loss for a number of years and had to close.

One airline which uses Blackpool, Jet2, will be transferring its flights to Manchester from Friday.

The airport is working with independent aviation businesses to see if they can stay at the site in the long term.

Blackpool Council is exploring the potential for turning it into an enterprise zone.

Balfour Beatty, which bought the site in 2008, put it up for sale in August.

About 110 staff are employed at the airport, which served some 235,000 passengers last year.

[JayMac]

Confirmation that the airport is to close for commercial aviation.

Announcement from Blackpool International Airport:

BLACKPOOL AIRPORT ANNOUNCEMENT

We regret to announce that no agreement has been reached to secure the future of operations at Blackpool Airport. The airport operation has been making a loss for a number of years and unfortunately there is no option for the company other than to close.

This is a very sad day for the airport which has a proud aviation history and a loyal, appreciative customer following. We would like to thank all our dedicated staff who have delivered exceptional service to passengers for many years.

The airport will remain open to the public until 15 October 2014 and we will endeavour to maintain operations as normal until this date, after which time commercial flights will cease.

It is recommended that passengers contact their airline to confirm travel arrangements:

Jet2.com www.Jet2.com/info

Aer Lingus Regional +44 0871 718 5000 for UK^▸ (United Kingdom) or +353 0818 365 000 for Ireland

Citywing 0871 200 0440

While the sales process announced at the end of August was a final attempt to secure the future of the airport, the airport's management had spent many months prior to this announcement approaching organisations with a potential interest in the airport in an attempt to find a buyer.

Work is currently underway with the independent aviation businesses and tenants at the airport to understand if their operations can continue in the future. Working in partnership with the local authorities, regeneration plans are also being developed which will be designed to create future employment and sustainable economic development opportunities for Blackpool and the Fylde Coast.

[TonyK]

Another airport close to my heart. The (Blackpool and Fylde) Gazette points the finger at Balfour Beatty and Jet2.

Anger over airport as staff face job loss

14 October 2014
16:00

The finger of blame has been pointed at Jet2 and Balfour Beatty on the eve of the last flights from Blackpool International Airport.

The airline and the airport owners were criticised today over the debacle which has left Blackpool^s vital transport link facing closure.

The Unite union was meeting management at the airport today as attempts continue to find a buyer.

Unite regional officer Dave Kennedy said: ^Its a very disappointing to be in this situation. I work with people at Liverpool and Manchester airports and those two have gone after new business in a much more aggressive way than Blackpool has done in recent years.

^We know the economy has been difficult recently but there has been business to be won out there and it is a shame that Blackpool Airport^s owners had not been more pro-active.

^The workforce at Blackpool has accepted many changes and has been very flexible to help keep their jobs and support the business.

^We have been saying for a long time that the management needed to work harder to attract new business.

^We are now in a situation where 118 people are to be without employment and that is a shame.

^We are working with the local colleges and universities to try to provide up-skilling for people, trying to make them more marketable.^

Meanwhile Coun John Jones, Blackpool Council^s cabinet member for highways and transport, said: ^We appreciate that all the bad news of the last week has left many people across the Fylde Coast concerned about the future of Blackpool Airport.

^I think it also important to consider how such an apparently popular airport with busy flights has come to close.

^It is pretty clear that we have a situation where a successful airline is operating in an unsuccessful airport.

^Jet2 has been operating profitably, while the losses at the airport have been around ^2m per annum.

^Balfour Beatty even took Jet2 to court to try and reduce the imbalance in this relationship, but this failed.

^Furthermore, with Jet2 planning to reduce its Blackpool flight numbers further next year, it would be difficult to see how anyone would have been prepared to take on that arrangement.

^The contract was, in our view, an extremely onerous one with very high fixed costs for the owners and one that could not be sustained.

^Jet2 has to operate in the interests of shareholders and we understand that, but its stance has certainly not been supportive of continuing operations in Blackpool.

^Therefore this parting was somewhat inevitable and we want to place on record our frustration that more has not been done by Jet2, in particular, to make the airport work for all parties.

^We also feel more could have been done by the airport operators to try to bring in new routes and airlines.^

He said councillors would be meeting in Westminster next week with MPs^▸ (Member of Parliament), ministers and other bodies to consider ways in which new funding could be accessed.

He added that the council will try to help those made redundant.

What isn't clear yet is whether the airport will stay open for other business. Light aircraft and helicopter trips around the area have long been popular with holidaymakers (including me as a child!). There is a flying school, which can only continue to teach if the airport retains its licence as an instructional base. And Blackpool has been used by helicopters servicing the windfarm offshore and the Morecambe Bay gas field. The nearest big runway is very close, at Warton, but operates flights of experimental and prototype aircraft - it had, and may still have, a mock-up of an aircraft carrier launch and retrieval system - and is not open to the public. Next nearest is Manchester.

[chrisr_75]

BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) now reporting that the last commercial flight has left the airport and that it has now closed for business:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-29619126

[TonyK]

BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) now reporting that the last commercial flight has left the airport and that it has now closed for business:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-29619126

It seems from that story that the general aviation side of things continues, at least for the moment, and that BAe will welcome some comers with open arms, rather than open hostility, for a while.

I hope this airport finds a solution quickly, and stays open as a minor commercial airport, as before. The next closest commercial airport, Manchester, has an hourly rail service from  Blackpool North, with connections via Preston from Blackpool South (and therefore Squires Gate, by the airport). Holidaymakers thus have options. But the next closest place to learn to fly is Manchester Barton, some 60 miles away. Blackpool's flying school made a point of the fact that it lies outside of controlled airspace, which I can say from experience makes learning easier. You can learn all of that after learning to handle the aircraft, rather than having to do both simultaneously. It is also an airport where it doesn't much matter if you forget to change the altimeter from QNH to QFE when landing.

I shall be in Blackpool next week, and will gauge opinion if I can.

[ChrisB]

It's not all closures.....now Carlisle to New York, via Dublin....

[TonyK]

It's not all closures.....now Carlisle to New York, via Dublin....

Stobart's model looks more likely to succeed than Blackpool's. The Carlisle airport will link to Southend, which gives access to Easyjet's european flights. Via Dublin to New York is a masterstroke, especially at the prices quoted, and I hope it does well. Facilities are a caf^, with no plans to ponce the place up unless there's a need. Blackpool seems to have had delusions of grandeur, with expansion funded by a development surcharge on passengers.

As Brucey pointed out above, airport development surcharges are never popular with passengers or airlines. Ryanair's objection to Newquay imposing a similar levy led to it pulling one of its two daily flights from "London" Stansted in protest. At least, that was the official version of events - I can't see Ryanair cutting their noses off to spite their faces.

At Blackpool, the vultures are circling, as the Blackpool and Fylde Gazette shows.

Plea over plans to sell Blackpool Airport assets

MPs^▸ (Member of Parliament) have today warned liquidators in charge of Blackpool Airport Ltd not to sell off vital equipment needed to run the terminal.

Their pleas came as Zolfo Cooper, which was called in earlier this month to deal with the huge ^21m debts of the failed company, revealed it was preparing to sell and auction off assets from the site.

Employees have been at the Squires Gate site to value and catalogue items which can be sold to raise money to pay creditors, the largest of whom are owner Balfour Beatty^s companies, but who also comprise non-secured creditors who are owed ^2m.

A spokesman for Manchester and London-based Zolfo said: ^We don^t have a date yet, but it is planned to auction the non-airside assets before Christmas and the airside 
assets after Christmas.^

MPs have been working with local councils and lobbying Government to come up with a plan to secure the future of the airport as an 
aviation centre.

Today, Fylde MP Mark Menzies said: ^I am still holding out hope that a buyer can be found who would come in and reopen the airport in some form or another so am extremely concerned to hear this is happening so soon.

^If liquidating these assets were to potentially make the airport less attractive to investors then I would consider it an act of economic vandalism and a betrayal of all those who are working so hard to maintain aviation on that site.

^I have today written to Balfour Beatty and the liquidator to let my feelings be known on this subject. I have successfully called an Adjournment Debate on the situation at Blackpool Airport, to be held in the House of Commons on Monday, November 3, and this will certainly be one of the things I raise with the Minister during that session.^

Blackpool South MP Gordon Marsden said he, too, had high hopes a buyer may yet come forward and that there should be no rush to sell equipment which could be needed to operate aircraft.

He said: ^Anything integral to viable aviation at Blackpool Airport should not be sold at this time. Balfour Beatty should take strong note.^

The kit at Blackpool will not be as extensive or, probably, sophisticated as at, say, Bristol. The Instrument Landing System at Blackpool is only Category 1, as opposed to Bristol's Cat 3 (allowing landing in poorer visibility conditions).  Unlike Bristol, it doesn't have radar for a Lower Airspace Radar Service, which is handled by Warton. I don't know how strong the market is for second-hand PAPI lights, windsocks, and the like, but the fire sale of airside kit isn't going to raise a vast amount - certainly nothing like the cost of replacing it should another operator decide to try their luck.

Unlike at Filton,I am not aware of any local pressure for housebuilding land on the site of the airport. Yesterday, light aircraft were still departing and landing there.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Many thanks to our roving reporter Four Track, Now! for that live report from the scene. 

[TonyK]

Many thanks to our roving reporter Four Track, Now! for that live report from the scene. 

The least I could do, a quantity in which I specialise, CfN! I'm home again, and will file my expenses tomorrow. A rail-based picture, meanwhile, taken whilst filling the car with fuel.



Not a heritage line...

[Oxonhutch]

Ah, Blackpool North and its feast of semaphores.  As endangered as the airport I am afraid. The cold hand of progress cometh soon...

[JayMac]

Just for you, Oxonhutch: