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Flights from Blackpool to Isle of Man might be on the cards

News that Blackpool Airport may soon reopen for commercial flights has been welcomed by the business community in the town and surrounding area.

Commercial passenger flights between Blackpool Airport and the Isle of Man might soon be reinstated if new plans being considered by the local council come to fruition. The return of passenger flights from the facility has been a hot topic in recent years and a recent survey indicated that around 97% of the local population would like to see flights return to the airport.

Many believe that the return of flights to the facility would be of benefit to local residents and would avoid the need for them to travel further afield to larger airports such as Liverpool and Manchester. Any expansion of Blackpool Airport would also bring in much-needed revenue and create jobs.

Council leader Lynn Williams has made it clear that the current focus its on the helicopter and business jet market and she is cautious about bringing in passenger flights and competing against larger regional airports which have benefitted from major investment over the past few years.

Nevertheless she also said that there are ongoing talks about reinstating flights to the Isle of Man and perhaps other overseas destinations if the government provided funding.

She said: “At our peak in 2007, the airport lost £2m and during Balfour Beattie’s 10-year ownership, it lost around £27m. Airports do lose money and that is offset by parking and retail income. The reality is that we have never had the numbers to enable our airport to get anywhere close to break even.

“If the government was willing to underwrite losses, then absolutely we can look at the reinstatement of European flights. Until then, with aircraft movements currently at their highest level in 20 years with successful operations including helicopters servicing the Irish Sea rigs, pilot training and recent growth in private jet movements, our Airport board will continue to ensure that we attract and create good jobs and contracts for the airport to secure its future, to include ongoing discussions about flights to the Isle of Man.”