Coventry Airport closes
08.12.09
Coventry Airport has been closed due to financial difficulties. West Midlands International Airport, which leases the airport from its council owners, had been due to appear in the High Court tomorrow to respond to a winding-up petition from the Inland Revenue. The board and shareholders of the airport operator decided to shut it, an airport spokeswoman said.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said the airport's owner had issued a Notice to Airmen, informing pilots and aircraft that the airport was no longer operational. It said air traffic control at the airport had also ceased operating and overflying flights would be handled by other airports in the area, including Birmingham.
Passenger airline Thomsonfly stopped flights out of the airport in November 2008 and a year earlier the airport saw plans for a new terminal rejected. A public inquiry said the planned terminal would have created too much noise in the area. The airport has operated as a cargo terminal and a base for executive jets and aviation-related businesses since Thomsonfly ceased its operations.
City council leader Ken Taylor said it was a ‘real blow’ to Coventry and he believed the city should have its own airport. He said: ‘We remain committed to the long-term future of the site as an airport and we will be doing all that we can to support the attempts to secure new ownership and on-going commercial management.’
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