{"id":3269,"date":"2026-02-06T18:04:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T18:04:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/?p=3269"},"modified":"2026-02-06T18:04:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T18:04:14","slug":"abandoned-uk-airport-to-reopen-after-750m-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/?p=3269","title":{"rendered":"Abandoned UK airport to reopen after \u00a3750m project"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div><img loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Abandoned UK airport to reopen after \u00a3750m project\" width=\"620\" height=\"500\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"w-full object-cover rounded-md\" style=\"color:transparent;background-size:cover;background-position:50% 50%;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-image:url(&quot;data:image\/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 620 500'%3E%3Cfilter id='b' color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'\/%3E%3CfeColorMatrix values='1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 100 -1' result='s'\/%3E%3CfeFlood x='0' y='0' width='100%25' height='100%25'\/%3E%3CfeComposite operator='out' in='s'\/%3E%3CfeComposite in2='SourceGraphic'\/%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'\/%3E%3C\/filter%3E%3Cimage width='100%25' height='100%25' x='0' y='0' preserveAspectRatio='none' style='filter: url(%23b);' href='data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAQAAACEN3D\/AAAAL0lEQVR42mP4z8DAwMiAARgZGJhY+P\/\/PwMDAwPDfwYGBgaGhgYGhgYGAAD9Hwlr5xRngAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg=='\/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot;)\" src=\"https:\/\/cms.joe.co.uk\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-470093230.jpg?height=683&amp;width=1024\"\/><!--$--><\/p>\n<p><h2>It was closed in 2014<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose drop-cap \">\n<p>An abandoned airport near Margate in Kent could reopen in three years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>The opening date for Manston Airport has been pushed back by another year, and is expected to open again in 2029.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>This is due to \u201ccomplexity of planning work, changes to the cost of the works and turbulence within the financial markets\u201d, it has been revealed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>It has been out of function for more than the decade, as the historic airport has been closed since 2014.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>Final discussions are \u201cunderway with a preferred, European-based funding partner\u201d, as the project is reportedly in the final stage.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>\u201cRiverOak Strategic Partners expects Manston Airport to be operational in 2029, with consultation on proposed airspace to get underway in March 2026\u201d, Tony Freudmann from airport owners RSP said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>\u201cManston represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver new runway capacity to support the UK air cargo market and to transform the economic landscape in East Kent\u201d, he added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>\u201cRSP remains keen to get Manston open as soon as possible. However, we are realistic about the complexity of delivering a major infrastructure project. There are no shortcuts to reopening the airport, in a sustainable way, for the long term and delays can unfortunately become a part of the process of getting it right.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>The current project proposal cost is \u00a3750million.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>Originally, the airport was a RAF base built in 1916. Until its closing in 2014, it operated as a commercial terminal unit.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>In recent years, it was used as a car park for the ferry port, and as a set for the 2022 film Empire of Light.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>It was then used as an emergency holding facility for thousands of lorries that were parked there, in response to the disruption caused by the closure of the French borders in 2020.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><\/div>\n<p>#Abandoned #airport #reopen #750m #project<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It was closed in 2014 An abandoned airport near Margate in Kent could reopen in three years. The opening date for Manston Airport has been pushed back by another year, and is expected to open again in 2029. This is due to \u201ccomplexity of planning work, changes to the cost of the works and turbulence [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3270,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[2951,2949,1771,149,2950],"class_list":{"0":"post-3269","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-featured","8":"tag-750m","9":"tag-abandoned","10":"tag-airport","11":"tag-project","12":"tag-reopen"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3269\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}