Game-changer - Manston to stop being an airport

Manston and Prestwick would be easier to sell... if they weren't airports. So Infratil is putting the word out that they're prepared to stump up cash to help potential buyers transform the airports into, er, something they actually want to buy.  bit.ly/UnV6ca

Hurrah! A Public Meeting at Manston!

Yes, folks - it's that once a year opportunity to say what you mean... bit.ly/Vn0jod

Charles Buchanan's brave face

Every now and then Charles Buchanan reports to KIACC (the airport's consultative committee). These reports are usually a rattling good read, if only to pick out the bits where a favourable gloss is put on the less than lovely truth. bit.ly/TBrUjn

All aboard the 4.20am flight to Amsterdam?

After years of fanciful forecasts, missed targets and false hopes, this may be Infratil's legacy - a minimal passenger service that only ever flies at night, while the airport is almost entirely idle through the 16 hours of daytime. This is Infratil waving goodbye, with two fingers. bit.ly/PDKHp8

Fan Mail

"Perhaps if I was your neighbour and you had to have an ambulance at 3am I would stop it due to the noise from the sirens." bit.ly/NYjeCh

Airport Working Party: unprepared

The AWP may be prepared to shoot itself in the foot, but it's not preparing for much else.

Cllr Gideon concluded yesterday that this is the wrong time to review the S106 agreement, and that it should be revisited as and when the airport sale goes through, or a planning application is received.

It would be marvellous if the AWP adopted the motto used by hundreds of thousands of scouts and guides across Britain - "Be Prepared".

bit.ly/V0Q2Mj

Why not Manston? Ask Infratil...

Infratil is selling Manston, but wants to buy Stansted. Why? bit.ly/UHOR4g

Night Flights vote

TDC listened, and said "No" - will Mr Buchanan get the message? bit.ly/Lw6S0I

Before Thursday's night flights vote...

... tell your Councillor what really matters: you and yours and your quality of life.  bit.ly/KYtJT7

Location matters more than night flights

No matter how many times you say it, it's still true - Manston's in the wrong place... bit.ly/LmJBuD

Sparks fly over AWP fiasco

The unutterable shambles of the recent AWP meeting has given cause for complaint. A fully-fledged formal foot-stamping has landed with a thump at TDC Towers... bit.ly/IcnAwS

Thanet Airport Working Party 4th April

Like pushing your own face into a bacon slicer. Slowly. It was shambolic to a degree I would once have found shocking... bit.ly/HSa7R6

Thanet rejects Manston night flights

73% of voters said "No" to night flights. Next question: what will the councillors say? bit.ly/Hb4UgQ

NHS Bill Risk Register

This MIGHT be the leaked Risk Register. Or not.

A bit off-topic, I know, but might be of interest if you care about the NHS... bit.ly/GSopLM

Consultation results

Well, the results are in for Canterbury district, and the answer is a clear "No" to night flights. bit.ly/nahqEG

BAWC: But Are We Convinced

OK folks, let's get a grip before hysteria takes hold.

The latest PR drivel is that BAWC are going to save the whole of south-east England from flight congestion by, er, moving their flights from one part of the south-east to another... bit.ly/yTRWHK

Airport CEOs upbeat

Airport CEOs upbeat, and using very similar words to express their optimism... bit.ly/x7SjkB

Reality hits home, Infratil leave town

Delusion has finally been swept away by the onslaught of reality and Infratil are throwing in the towel. This is clearly bad news for all those employed at the airport. Manston was clearly one of Infratil's rare bad investments, and the workforce at the airport did their best to make a silk purse out of a flying pig's ear, but to no avail... bit.ly/ACmkyj

Manston in the Eye

The already deprived residents of one of the poorest local authorities in England may soon be deprived of sleep, too — thanks to the ineptitude of Thanet council... bit.ly/yHURQA

Ramsgate house prices plummet

Night flight blight triggers house price crash - down 7% in just 6 months... bit.ly/Amdnve

Unveiled threat

During a normal summer, when sitting quietly in our garden, we have to endure  endless circuits by empty planes to earn the airport some revenue. This is bad enough.

If the council permits night flying, they will have betrayed the people of Ramsgate and this will be remembered by us in any forthcoming elections. bit.ly/y1wbQD

More common sense

The consideration of granting permission for night time flights based on jobs must be dealt with on facts rather than hope... bit.ly/x9Og9V

Bus day in Ramsgate

The bus had real impact. Provided a great stationary billboard and pitch for us and welcoming people on, dishing out tea and biscuits etc all felt good... bit.ly/zpWN7L

The NoNightFlights Bus

We'll be at Ramsgate Harbour for crowd scenes, photo opportunities and movie making at 11am and 12 noon - be there a few minutes early to be sure of your well-deserved stardom! More details here: bit.ly/zCyDjp

SNAFU at TDC Public Consultation

Phew! Panic over.
For a while there, it looked like the TDC Consultation machine was randomly rejecting emails without telling anyone... bit.ly/zmNPe4

The biggest lies hide in plain sight

Buchanan says he's not asking for unlimited night flights. HE IS - that's exactly what he's asking for. And he wants there to be no fines or penalties when he breaks the rules.  bit.ly/wvCxgt

Tannoying question

Where in Ramsgate can you hear the Tannoys at the port and the station?  bit.ly/zP5W78

I can hear the Tannoy system and noise of the ships being loaded/unloaded from my house

I can hear the Tannoy system and announcements and the trains with their flat spots on the wheels

GROUPTHINK - an alternative to responsibility

Looking at the unutterable shambles surrounding Manston, I wonder how on earth this happened. Answer: GROUPTHINK bit.ly/xpuSUs

A shred of evidence?

Manston's job forecasts are absurdly exaggerated, a cruel and selfish deception on the people of Thanet and east Kent. bit.ly/xcDLuu

At last - a chance to be heard

Manston night flights consultation: your chance to make a difference - they cannot ignore a majority result. bit.ly/yR60p4

Tit for tat at TDC

There are no heroes in this story - blame can be splashed in every direction. Conservative and Labour members (AND Officers, let us not forget) are all culpable. bit.ly/yEs27b

The nasty niceties of planning

TDC cannot choose whether or not to decide that this proposal requires planning permission. bit.ly/zEqeN3

Dream Council

This is what happens when a local council throws its weight into the fight against night flights, on behalf of the residents. bit.ly/y6qNll

Laura Sandys gets political

Politics is the worst thing that ever happened to democracy, and I only realised this since getting involved in local community campaigns like this one.

It's disheartening when political spin and point-scoring produce more heat than light, warming the hearts of political supporters without showing a way forward. (This criticism is emphatically not levelled at Laura alone, not by any means - they're all at it, most of the time, usually when there are better things to be doing.) bit.ly/xVD5ba

Good night to night flights?

The report that TDC commissioned is very critical of Manston's proposal. See the Readers Digest version at bit.ly/zptwtR

Night flights report - TDC announce release date

TDC have got the report, but aren't going to publish it yet, the teasing little minxes...  bit.ly/xwIkDe

Flybe, Manston, night flights and the truth

We wondered whether night flights would have made a difference to Flybe's decision to quit Manston. So we asked them.

Had the lack of scheduled night flights made Manston less attractive? Would scheduled night flights have persuaded Flybe to stay?  bit.ly/xyF1Ly

CPRE says night flights at Manston will not boost business

Quite the reverse in fact - the campaign group says night flights could actually damage Thanet’s economic growth... bit.ly/yuAeu4

The Red Sparrows

A bunch of firemen from Basingstoke in little planes made of bits of bicycle and cardboard who perform death-defying stunts with less than realistic props.

Like a tribute band, but much, much sillier.

Genius. bit.ly/xW28fH

Foley's Folly

David Foley, the Chief Exec of Thanet & East Kent Chamber Ltd, actually believes Manston's sales patter. Unfortunately. bit.ly/xE41No