Blackpool Airport supporters welcome positive feedback from UK’s Secretary of State for Transport
October 3, 2024
![Blackpool Airport, [C] Blackpool Council.](https://aerospaceglobalnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Blackpool-Airport-C-Blackpool-Council.jpg)
While the future of commercial operations returning to Blackpool Airport in the UK remains uncertain, a recent visit from the UK’s Transport Secretary of State Louise Haigh, MP in Blackpool, has given the airport and its supporters hope.
Having opened in 1909, passenger services really took off after the turn of the century when the likes of Jet2, Ryanair and the now defunct Monarch Airlines and Flybe operated services from Blackpool. However, in 2014, the airport owners announced its closure to commercial traffic. The airport is currently owned by Blackpool Council serving as a hub for business, medevac and general aviation,
Following a visit to the regional airport on Thursday 26 September, Haigh underlined her willingness to work with partners to investigate future development of the airport if there was demand for commercial operations.
She said: “We can absolutely look if there is an appetite for commercial flights from Blackpool Airport and there is the demand there.
“I am really passionate about regional airports and encouraging growth in the whole country, through aviation.”
A spokesperson from Blackpool Airport Supporters told Aerospace Global News: “The owners of Blackpool Airport, have consistently opposed commercial aviation since acquiring the airport. However, the public hopes that the council will reconsider its position and explore the possibility of bringing commercial flights back to the airport now we have a Labour government that back commercial aviation.”
In a further boost for the airport, planners at Fylde Council also recently gave the go ahead for a proposal to build a new passenger handling facility capable of accommodating up to 45 passengers at the regional hub.
Commenting on the application when it was submitted, Steve Peters, Managing Director of Blackpool Airport, said: “Over the last five years we’ve done a lot of work internally to make Blackpool an attractive airport once again… This new facility will allow us to grow executive flights by numbers of movements and increased aircraft size by offering more space as well as improved security, while a new building will provide a modern and welcoming environment that is more suitable as a first impression for departing or arriving visitors.”
