European Flights on the Cards for Revamped Carlisle Airport
BBC
3.7.2007
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cumbria/6266376.stm
There are hopes Carlisle Airport expansion would boost local tourism
A £25m plan has been unveiled to bring passenger services to Carlisle Airport.
The airport only has one 65-year-old runway, no radar or instrument landing equipment and is only suitable for private aircraft and flight training.
But Stobart Air wants to build a new runway, control tower, hangars and additional facilities, with a view to launching passenger services.
The firm is to submit a planning application and proposes services to London, Dublin, Amsterdam and Paris.
The airport currently loses about £500,000 a year, but Stobart Air and parent company WA Developments say they are confident they can turn things around.
/ This rebuilt runway, along with an instrument landing system, will greatly improve the safe operation of the airport
Stobart Air spokesman
Tourism bosses have already given their support to an expansion of the airport, which they say will bring in more visitors to areas such as the Lake District.
A Stobart Air spokesman said: "Stobart Air plans to invest around £25m plus in making Carlisle Airport a valuable, highly successful local facility, bringing jobs, prestige and convenient air travel to Cumbria.
"It is very important to emphasise that nothing in the Stobart Air proposals will lead to any change in the overall operation of the airport beyond what is already permitted under the terms of the airport lease and the CAA licence.
"The key step will be to reconstruct the main runway within the existing airport boundaries.
"It will be about the same length as the current runway, and be on almost the same orientation as the existing strip.
"This rebuilt runway, along with an instrument landing system, will greatly improve the safe operation of the airport.
"There will never be many passenger flights, perhaps five or six in and out each day.
"There simply are not enough potential passengers in our area to support any more."
The company says freight handling, storage and a hotel development will help make the project financially viable
European flights on the cards for revamped Carlisle Airport
4.7.2007
http://news.cheapflights.co.uk/flights/2007/07/european-flight.html
Carlisle Airport is set to undergo a £25 million investment, with a view to beginning regular passenger flights to major European cities.
Stobart Air, which manages the Cumbrian airport, has said it will spend the money in order to transform the location - which is currently only able to handle private aircraft and flight training - into a modern passenger hub.
The company has outlined plans to build a new runway, a control tower and other facilities, and could eventually offer flights to London, Dublin, Amsterdam and Paris.
A spokesman told the BBC: "Stobart Air plans to invest around £25m plus in making Carlisle Airport a valuable, highly successful local facility, bringing jobs, prestige and convenient air travel to Cumbria."
He added that there would never be more than about five or six passenger flights in and out each day because there are not enough potential passengers to support more.
However, a modernised Carlisle Airport would boost tourism in areas such as the Lake District, and offer another option to local people taking flights.
It is located 11 kilometres east of Carlisle and the M6.