Diverted flights plan sparks fears for Coventry Airport campaigners
06.12.05
Opponents of expansion at Coventry Airport were bracing themselves for a 'taste of things to come' as flights were to be diverted there from Birmingham International Airport during a series of festive strikes. Talks between Birmingham International and the Amicus union resolved the dispute yesterday, but we thought it useful to publish this article anyway.
The union planed eight 12-hour stoppages, including Christmas Eve, Boxing Day and New Year's Eve. Birmingham International had planned to take outgoing passengers by bus to Coventry, East Midlands and Manchester, where incoming flights would also be diverted.
Although Coventry's Baginton airport could only take smaller aircraft to and from European destinations, this reportedly will mean up to 400 extra flights over the eight days. The news angered local residents who are already unhappy at the general expansion of the Baginton operation.
Rugby borough councillor Ron Ravenhall, a long-term opponent of Coventry Airport, said: 'The fact that many more flights will be using the airport during Christmas is bad news for the people of south Coventry, bad news for the environment and bad news for all concerned. I'm very against the airport's expansion and if a significantly higher number of flights do use the airport during Christmas it will provide an interesting foretaste of things to come.'
John Hotchin, Leek Wooton parish council chairman, raised concerns that the congested Toll Bar Island, near Coventry Airport, would not be able to cope with added traffic. 'But the biggest fear is that the airport doesn't have the necessary safety measures or infrastructure to deal with planes landing and all the passengers using the facility,'he said.
A spokesman for the Coventry Airport Support Group dismissed what he described as 'knee jerk reactions' of the airport's opponents. 'Although Coventry has a long history of acting as a diversionary airport for Birmingham, it is unlikely that any diversions to Coventry as a result of the possible strike action at Birmingham will be anywhere near 400 extra flights a day. Even if diversions were at this level, we would estimate less than 100 coaches a day would visit Coventry Airport.'
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