How long will it take Thomson to pull out of Coventry now? 

The High Court has dealt a potentially fatal blow to expansion plans for
Coventry Airport.

A judge upheld the Government's decision to reject moves to build a new
terminal to take up to two million passengers a year.

Earlier local business and council leaders had expressed the belief that the
airport's future success was vital for the economic health and prestige of
the region.

The bid to expand the terminal building and attract more flights and
passengers was backed by the Coventry Chamber of Commerce and the city
council.

West Midlands International Airport Ltd had asked Mr Justice Forbes, sitting
in London, to overturn a decision taken last April by Hazel Blears,
Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, blocking the
project.

But the judge ruled that the minister's decision was not legally flawed and
refused to intervene.

Later the airport's chief executive, Chris Orphanou, said: "We have just
been advised of the outcome of the High Court hearing and are naturally
disappointed with the result.

"We will now take time to examine the full report and its implications."

No indication was given as to whether there will be an attempt to appeal
against the ruling.

During the legal battle, Mr Orphanou warned that if the passenger terminal
was not allowed to grow it would be "devastating, not just for us but for
the city and the surrounding community."

The High Court case arose out of a Government inspector's decision,
following last year's public inquiry, to refuse permission for expansion.

Opposition to the scheme was voiced by environment campaigners, residents
and some MPs.

The judge rejected accusations that the Government planners had acted
irrationally.

Interesting. It seems a shame Coventry are being restricted, but did the decision by Hazel Blears come after consultation with the CAA? The airspace around Coventry is rather congested and Coventry still only has an ATZ. Given the increase in movements, has  the case been thrown out over concerns about airspace or on planning merits alone?

Just a thought.

Goose:

How long will it take Thomson to pull out of Coventry now?

A little over a week - it's been announced today.

Last flights operating on 2nd November 2008 according to their website.

Surprised they've lasted this long with the continuing nonsense surrounding the airport.

My blood is boiling over this one! B****y tree huggers! I am sick to the back teeth of these liberal namby famby do gooders who have nothing else better to do! The last flight out was this weekend with a 737 going up to Manchester apparently. What really annoys me is that if you move near an airport you should expect noise and the prospect of expansion! I doubt many of the villagers who complained about a few extra flights a day(as thats all it would have been) have lived in their house longer than the airport has been there! Thomsonfly(along with Wizz) had averaged over 500,000 passengers a year! So clearly there is a demand for flights from the airport.

This ruling just shows how crap this country really is!

The airport are now saying they've temporarily dropped the plans to build a new terminal.

Story at the BBC.

 Some good news at last for Coventry Airport. The Airport has made an announcement that the facilities that were used for passenger flights are being converted into a biz-jet centre. Rapide House, that was the cafe part of the buildings, is being converted into a complex of lounges and crew facilities, to be ready by April. The Airport is hoping to become a major FBO, handling business movements for the Midlands.

Eclipse

Now that is good news. I hope it goes really well for them after the stupid ruling about the passenger terminal.