Wednesday 13 March 2013

Manston Airport removes security scanners and traffic control tower

Passengers flying out from Manston Airport in Kent will be able to board flights and take off much quicker thanks to new controversial downgrades being carried out across the airport.

On Monday the security scanners were permanently removed from the airport and sold on Ebay with the security staff laid off, this is going to save the airport thousands a year.

A second downgrade also took place - complete removal of the traffic control tower, now planes will be able to just take off without any air traffic control guiding them. Again the staff who worked at the control tower were also laid off.

The control tower is expected to be renovated into a recreation room for airport staff. Dubbed "The Recreation Tower", it will contain a ping pong table, general arcade games, a 60-inch plasma TV, water coolers (of course), and comfortable seating arrangements. These will be paid for through the money the airport will save on these downgrades.

From now on passengers flying out of Manston will not have to be scanned, they just have to check in and they will be allowed straight through to the departure lounge. Their hand luggage will also be able to pass through without being scanned.

Once passengers have boarded their plane, it will just take off to the skies without any contact with ATC.

Airport manager and chief executive Bert Trainor said "These recent downgrades will mean passengers will not have to wait in long queues at the security checks since they no longer exist, and they won't have to wait for the plane to have permission to take off. It will make travelling by plane much faster, easier and stress free.

"It is also going to save our airport up to thousands of pounds a year - money which we can spend renovating the now dormant control tower into a recreational building for our staff."

The new plans have generated controversy among fliers who use Manston Airport, some even now refusing to fly from the airport, despite the faster travel.

The hope is that eventually every airport across the world will adopt these same downgrades to allow faster travel for passengers internationally.

Mr. Trainor continued: "I really don't know why our downgrades have generated such controversy. We are only putting our passengers first. By carrying out these downgrades our passengers no longer have to wait in queues and will get to their destinations much faster.

"In 2013 the world couldn't be safer and so we have no need to scan passengers or their luggage, it is an unnecessary waste of vital money. As for the traffic controllers, we never needed them, pilots can guide themselves to the runway by using hand signals as indicators to other planes which way they intend to turn, and by giving way to other planes on the taxi way. A much more efficient system than having to pay air traffic controllers to tell them to do something they can figure out for themselves."

Meanwhile, as well as the scanners, the airport has also sold it's radar on Ebay, meaning when pilots land at Manston, they will have to visually locate the airport's runway themselves, and will have to rely on nearby landmarks such as the Thanet conurbation, and the Tesco car park in Ramsgate.

Mark Campbell, 32 of Herne Bay, said "I am very supportive of these new changes to the airport, no longer will I be questioned by menacing security staff about whether someone tried to tamper with my luggage or not. It's not like that's any of their business anyway."

Manston Airport is now the fastest airport to travel from in the world.

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