Manston Airport Reopening Plans Move Forward After More Than a Decade of Closure

Efforts to reopen Manston Airport in Kent have taken another step forward as plans to revive the long-abandoned site enter a new stage of public consultation.

The airport, officially known as Kent International Airport, has remained inactive since its final scheduled passenger flight departed for Amsterdam in April 2014.

Since then, the site has largely been used as a temporary lorry holding area, although redevelopment plans have been progressing behind the scenes for several years.

£750m redevelopment ambitions

Investment group RiverOak Strategic Partners (RSP), which purchased the airport site in 2019 for £16.5m, is leading proposals to bring aviation activity back to Manston.

The company originally aimed to reopen the airport by 2025, but rising construction costs and wider financial pressures have pushed the projected opening date back to 2029.

Estimated redevelopment costs have also increased substantially, climbing from an initial £400m projection to around £750m.

Freight operations planned first

Current proposals focus primarily on reopening Manston as a cargo airport rather than a passenger hub.

RSP has stated that the revived airport would support the UK air freight market by handling time-sensitive imports such as medical supplies and fresh produce while easing pressure on congested London airports and Channel freight routes.

The company believes the site could eventually process more than one million tonnes of freight annually once fully operational.

Although discussions with passenger airlines such as Ryanair and easyJet were previously referenced by the developer, publicly available plans currently remain focused on freight operations.

Public consultation underway

The project has now entered the third stage of the airspace change process, with a formal public consultation running from March through to June 2026.

The consultation includes both online and in-person engagement events designed to gather feedback on proposed flight paths and wider airspace changes associated with the airport’s reopening.

Communities in areas including Ramsgate and Herne Bay are expected to be among those most affected by future flight operations.

RSP director Tony Freudmann described the consultation as a significant milestone in delivering additional runway capacity for the UK’s freight sector and supporting economic growth across East Kent.

Historic airport with military legacy

Manston Airport has a long aviation history dating back to 1918, when it was originally established for military use during the First World War.

The site later played an important role during the Second World War and was heavily targeted during the Battle of Britain.

Despite its historical significance, the airport struggled commercially in later years before eventually closing in 2014 with the loss of more than 140 jobs.

Economic impact projections

RSP estimates the project could create more than 2,000 on-site jobs within five years of reopening, alongside over 13,000 indirect jobs linked to wider economic activity in the region.