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The UK airport which could reopen after more than a decade
AN airport in the UK could reopen to flights more than a decade after it closed.
Plymouth City Council leader Richard Bingley is backing a bid to reopen Plymouth Airport.
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The airport was closed after leaseholder Sutton Harbour Group (SHG) triggered a so-called “Armageddon clause” that allowed it to stop flights if it was deemed uneconomic.
Cllr Bingley told : "It’s almost disrespectful to not offer an airport to people who want to come here to trade or visit.”
“Plymouth as a city needs an airport and no stone will be left unturned until that happens.”
Despite Exeter having it's own airport, Cllr Bingley said Plymouth as a bigger city should have its own.
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He previously added: "I can’t think of any other city with a population of 300,000 that does not have an airport hub."
He is thought to be writing to local businesses to aid the bid which would reclaim the airport land and restart flights.
Last December, a plan for the "redevelopment of the site with a range of appropriate uses within the timeframe of the safeguard which expires in early 2024" was believed to be in the works.
And FlyPlymouth chief executive Raoul Witherall said there was still a good economic case for bringing back flights to and from the city, which could even include routes to Amsterdam.
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He said: “Commercial aviation opportunities at Plymouth have never been as strong as they are now.”
The airport first opened and was officially launched by Edward VIII, then Prince of Wales, in 1931.
It was once a popular airport - in 2009, more than 157,000 passengers used the airport, a 34 per cent increase on the previous year.
Airlines such as Air Wales and Air Southwest offered flights to Wales and London from the airport.
However, Air Southwest took over flights from Cardiff to Plymouth in 2006.
The airline then scrapped their Plymouth to London routes in 2011, which saw daily passengers at the airport drop as low as 100.
The airport closed in December that year.
Another airport in the UK is relaunching scheduled passenger flights for the first time in nearly 20 years.
Swansea Airport has announced a new flight route to and from Exeter Airport, launching this year.
However, another airport in Wales has seen a number of airlines pull out in recent months.
Wizz Air confirmed it is closing its Cardiff base due to "economic pressures".
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It comes just months after Doncaster Sheffield Airport closed for good in October 2022 after airline Wizz Air ceased operations.
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