News: Coventry Airport boss reacts to MP jibe

Flights > News > # 2172 (28/05/2009)

The boss of Coventry Airport has slammed comments made by a local MP that the facility has no long-term future.
Warwick and Leamington MP James Plaskitt said Coventry Airport is "at the end of the runway" in a recent newspaper interview following the news that the airport had been put up for sale. The Labour MP has vociferously fought development at Coventry because of potential noise pollution issues, but supports massive expansion at nearby Birmingham.
Airport director Brian Cox said: "Fortunately, derogatory remarks made by certain individuals in the article have not affected the appetite of those parties showing an interest in taking the airport forward.
"Coventry Airport is an asset to the region, helping to attract inward investment and is committed to securing the future of its workforce, 74 per cent of whom reside in the Coventry and Warwickshire area."
Plans for a new terminal were dropped in February after a public inquiry had found that a bigger airport at Coventry was not necessary with Birmingham Airport so close by. There are currently no passenger flights from Coventry following Thomsonfly’s departure from the airport last November.