Tiny UK airport closed for 10 years is set to open again as exact date revealed

Manston Airport in Thanet, Kent, has been closed for almost a decade but is set to reopen as a freight hub in the coming years. The historic runway is also planning to host an air show next summer

Planes are set to soar over Thanet's Manston Airport as an air show is scheduled for 2025, marking the first event of its kind in a decade at the former international airport. Since shutting down in 2014, the fate of the coastal airport has been hotly debated, but it now appears that Manston is gearing up for a revival.

The current vision involves transforming the site into a new ‘state-of-the-art freight hub’. And now, The Manston International Airshow is scheduled for next August, making it the first large aviation event at the airport since 2013.

The air show is pencilled in for the weekend of Saturday, 16 August and Sunday 17 August, with organisers promising a thrilling display of aerial feats. The air show team took to Facebook to express their excitement: "We are thrilled to have you on board and to be able to start sharing with you what will be a spectacular event for Kent."

They added: "A show that we have been working on as a team since August and are delighted to confirm as a date for the diary." More information about the Manston International Airshow will be released nearer the event.

With anticipation mounting for the upcoming air show and the revival of Manston Airport underway, we delve into the storied past of this iconic Thanet landmark.

Wartime origins

The historic Manston airfield in east Kent has a dramatic past. The site, originally open farmland, was reportedly used for emergency landings during the First World War after pilots initially aimed for St Mildred's Bay in Westgate-on-Sea to find a landing strip.

The clifftop landing grounds were notoriously dangerous, with one alarming episode involving an aircraft overshooting the cliffs and plunging into the sea - fortunately at a time when the tide was coming in.

From the winter of 1915 to 1916, planes started to use the space between Minster and Manston for emergency landings, leading to the establishment of Admiralty Aerodrome. This development was followed by the creation of a bomber training school, as noted by The Spitfire and Hurricane Memorial Museum, now situated adjacent to the former runway.

During the Second World War and particularly the Battle of Britain, RAF Manston played a crucial role due to its proximity to occupied France, just a 10-minute flight away. It's said that RAF Manston endured intense early attacks by the Luftwaffe in 1940 and, according to the museum, served as a "dropping off" point for enemy aircraft to unload surplus bombs while returning from missions.

Despite this, damaged planes made emergency landings at RAF Manston, which led to its use as a recovery airfield for the RAF and USAAF. Notably, the airfield was also used in the trials for the bouncing bomb.

In 1939, Hawker Hurricanes took off from the Kent runway, and later in the war, Hawker Typhoons were based there. During the 1950s, amidst the Cold War tensions, Manston was used by the United States Air Force as a Strategic Air Command base for its fighter and fighter-bomber units.

After the USAF withdrew from Kent, Manston became a joint civilian and RAF airport in 1960, before becoming Kent International Airport in 1989. Military use at Manston ceased in 1999, and the airport transitioned to solely civilian use.

The rise and fall of Kent International Airport

In December 2003, the government designated Manston to "play a valuable role in meeting local demand and could contribute to regional economic development". Work began the following year to transform it into a budget airline hub.

New car parks and a direct coach service from Bluewater, via Chatham, were introduced to support new flights to UK destinations such as Manchester and Edinburgh, as well as international flights to Dublin and Geneva. Manston Airport, once a bustling hub, fell into liquidation after its main airline went bust.

The airport was temporarily shut down until a new buyer could be found. In August 2005, the airport was sold to New Zealand-based Infratil. A year later, a charter route between Manston and Norfolk, Virginia was announced.

However, due to low bookings, the route was cancelled, highlighting the struggles the airport was facing. Despite adding several new services over the years, the airport remained financially unviable.

Infratil put Kent International up for sale after their annual report revealed that losses from their European airports had increased from £9 million to £11 million in 2010. In July 2012, a pressure group called 'Why Not Manston?' was formed to advocate for greater use of Manston Airport.

Ann Gloag, co-founder of the Stagecoach group, bought the former airport on 29 November 2013 for a mere £1. However, in March 2014, it was announced that a 45-day consultation period into the closure of the former airport had begun.

The airport was reportedly losing £10,000 daily, and its last scheduled flight departed for Amsterdam in April 2014, resulting in 144 job losses. Thanet North MP Sir Roger Gale labelled the decision as an "act of corporate vandalism".

Revival and obstacles

Plans were initially in place to transform the site into a massive development featuring 4,000 homes, a business park, country park and sports village, while also preserving some of the airport as a heritage runway. However, these plans eventually fell by the wayside.

From 2015 onwards, the site was given a new purpose as an emergency lorry park to manage cross-channel issues during peak times. Despite being bought by RiverOak Strategic Partners (RSP) in 2019 for a reported £16 million, it seemed unlikely until 2022 that Manston would ever see flights again.

However, after years of delays and opposition from local campaign groups, the UK Government finally gave the green light in August 2022 for the airport to be redeveloped into a cargo hub. The refurbishment of Manston is expected to cost around £500million and will include new terminals and updated runways.

Several attempts have been made to halt the development of the airfreight hub, causing further delays. In September last year, an attempt to overturn the Government's approval for the Manston Airport Development Consent Order (DCO) was rejected.

A bid to halt the development of the cargo hub, led by a Ramsgate resident and campaigner, was dismissed earlier this year in May. This decision, made by Lord Justice Peter Jackson, Lord Justice Lewis and Lord Justice Warby, has cleared the path for work to begin on reopening the airport.

Looking ahead

The process of planning, construction, recruitment and completing the airspace change project is expected to take three years. The airport is set to be operational by 2027. Initially, Manston will operate solely as a cargo hub, but there are whispers that passenger flights could be introduced from 2028.

According to The Mirror, if the cargo side of the airport proves successful, passenger routes to countries such as the Netherlands, Spain, Cyprus and Malta could be established. It's reported that the airport's owners are in discussions with budget airlines like Ryanair and easyJet.

In the long term, plans over a 15-year period include having up to four passenger stands and 19 freight stands. RSP has stated that the project will create around 650 new jobs during the construction phase and 2,000 permanent jobs once it is fully operational.

Their website further stated: "The project requires no Government funding and has attracted several international investors who are prepared to invest £800m in this deprived part of the country."