Manston Airport: Judges dismiss attempt to block reopening
The airport could be ready to receive flights in 2027
The reopening of Manston Airport is set to go ahead after its closure ten years ago.
The Court of Appeal has blocked the latest attempt by campaigners to stop the plans, by dismissing an application for a judicial review.
Protestors said the plan to reopen the airport would worsen climate change and create more air pollution and noise.
The company which owns the site near Ramsgate plans to turn it into a cargo hub handling more than a million tonnes of freight a year.
Tony Freudmann, director of airport owners RSP, said: "We have always remained confident in our proposals and unshaken in our belief that we can create something very special at Manston which delivers both important capacity for UK air freight and a sustainable economic boost for East Kent.
"Although the past seven years have been intensely frustrating at times, the fact that we have gone all the way to the Court of Appeal means no stone has been left unturned in the examination of our proposals.
"We can now deliver our plans knowing with certainty that we have demonstrated, beyond question, that Manston has a vital role to play in addressing the airspace capacity issues blighting London and the south east."