Annual Review
Summary
We've had a progressive year no doubt about it, the Mayor referred to 2022 as the "year of construction" - it wasn't but this year certainly has been. Our community and the public alike are getting impatient for new flights however. The last new flights into the airport were achieved under Stobart, since they left we have seen only limited expansion from existing operators. It's a sprint not a marathon but it would help if the Mayor was on the same page as the Directors, instead of promising flights that then fail to materialise. Personally we don't care if the cargo facility is thus far redundant, so long as it bursts into life eventually - and it will. Two digs were made toward Newcastle that came back to haunt us during the year, firstly when we taunted them after our first award win, only for them to out-do us weeks later even if we did topple them again by the end of the year. Then boasting about the only direct charter to Dortmund for Newcastle United fans, just for it to find its way back north.
The airport have in excess of 30 projects on the go, some aviation some not, and during the year these have progressed quite nicely but away from the public eye and those spectating don't necessary realise or appreciate all of the work taking place behind the scenes. There are plenty of reasons to commend the airport at present.
We're at a bit of a crossroads as far as the hobby is concerned, on the one hand, if we achieve even a third of the proposals we've put to management for spotting provisions in and around the various building projects then things will improve no end. On the other hand, compliance is the word of the day and there is no longer any "give" when it comes to security, the letter of the law is being followed by the airport authority and with that in mind there will be some regression in how much freedom we have. Nothing is permitted within three metres of a perimeter fence, realistically how long do you think it will be before that gets enforced? Right now camera lens poking through the gaps is like being drunk in a pub - illegal but it just happens and is mostly tolerated. How long do you think it will be before the airport are made by the CAA to erect a proper perimeter fence around the 05 field? We are looking at resurrecting the old enthusiast ID card scheme, this will hopefully go some way to alleviating the effects of compliance.