Ambitious growth plans revealled
12.07.08
Passenger numbers at Norwich Airport could more than double in the next 7 years under ambitious new plans, the Evening News reports. The boast comes despite news that growth is stalling at other UK airports, including at London City, Heathrow, Stansted and Gatwick.
Managing director Richard Jenner told the newspaper that, under current projections, the number of people using the airport in a year would rise from about 600,000 currently to 1.5m by 2015/16. By 2016 he said he hoped to see the frequency of current UK and international flights increase, including Flybe services to Edinburgh and Manchester and new LTE routes to Spain.
He also hopes to see airlines offering flights to Italy, France, Northern Europe and Scandinavia along with UK routes such as the return of axed Glasgow and Belfast services and ‘niche’ destinations such as Bristol, Newquay and Newcastle. A planned hub service to Paris would also enable easier access to oil-rich countries in West Africa to support the offshore oil industry.
Mr Jenner said: ‘Our passenger projections are reasonable and possibly even conservative. Our strategy is to keep what we have got and increase the frequency of flights. We want better coverage of UK destinations. We also want airlines to be looking to operate European routes and routes that will support the offshore energy industry and the local economy.’
However, with record oil prices and a weakening global economy leading to airlines cutting frequencies and routes, with some expected to fail this winter, we question the projections. Even if the economy picks up, unless the price of oil drops significantly, we struggle to see where the growth at Norwich Airport will come from.
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