Jobs and freight up at Kent Airport
25.05.08
Jobs and freight have taken off at Kent International Airport as it aims to become as busy as its Scottish sister hub. The airport now employs 93 people, up 12 in the past 18 months, and in March it handled 3,602 tonnes of inbound freight, up 38% on a year ago. The total tonnage of freight during the 2007-8 financial year was 32,624, up 26 per cent on the previous year.
Kent International is owned by Infratil, the New Zealand-based infrastructure company that also owns Glasgow Prestwick. The Scottish airport also reported a strong performance in March, handling more than 192,000 passengers, up by nearly 12,000 on the same month in 2007. It handled 2,426,630 passengers from April 2007 to March 2008, up slightly on the previous year.
Kent Airport chief executive Matt Clarke said: ‘Our ambition is to emulate the success of Prestwick at Kent International. A recent economic study found that inbound visitors using Prestwick spent £173 million last year, while the airport’s presence accounts for 3,000 jobs in Scotland.’
KIA is also hoping for a successful holiday season, with the return of Kent Escapes charter operation serving eight destinations. Channel Islands Travel is operating flights to Jersey for the first time, and Newmarket Holidays is offering holidays in Austria, Croatia, Madeira and Malta from Manston.
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