The lost opportunities
It wasn’t that long ago that Plymouth was the leading air transport centre in the south west beyond Bristol. We had direct slots into Heathrow and the potential to lead growth in this region at a time when Exeter and Newquay airports both had questionable futures.
Through one event and another we have lost this position and Plymouth City Airport is now more attractive to some as a piece of real estate than the transport jewel it should be. In the past Plymouth has been badly damaged by the loss of marine passenger and cargo transport and the loss of the airport – our only high speed link – could be just as damaging in the long term.
Given the track record of lost opportunities, failures to act, failure to exploit and regular independent reports that are now held to be ‘wrong’, we should be very wary that 2011 is not the greatest lost opportunity of them all.