Dismay as petition for return of holiday flights at Blackpool Airport is rejected

More than 8,000 signatures had been collected by Blackpool South MP Scott Benton who said it was time the local authority adopted a more ambitious strategy to the airport which it bought back in 2017.

He said he also wanted to place on record the widespread public support for bringing back commercial aviation to the Squires Gate hub.

Addressing a meeting of the full council held on Zoom video, Mr Benton said: “It would be an economic game changer for Blackpool.

“I can’t think of a single issue that inspires so much interest and agreement among my constituents regardless of background and politics.”

Conservative councillors, who supported the petition, said commercial flights would help bring tourists into the £300m Blackpool Central development.

Tory group leader Coun Tony Williams accused the council of lacking vision.

He said: “It’s the biggest lack of ambition I have seen in the council in the 12 years I have served as a councillor.”

But Coun Ivan Taylor, cabinet member for projects and partnerships, said the council had lost £1m a year when holiday flights previously operated from the airport, and private operators had also lost millions of pounds.

He said: “Subsidising people going on their fun trips to Tenerife and elsewhere is not within our possibilities.

“It would take us around £50m to do the investment to bring it up to scratch and we would still be losing money.”

Mr Benton said he was disappointed by the decision but would continue to campaign for the commercial reopening of the airport.

He said: "Only yesterday Paul Maynard and I spoke to the Transport Secretary about the opportunities the airport could bring to Blackpool, and the government are actively looking at ways in which they can support regional airports.

"Please rest assured that I will continue to work with the government and investors to look at how we can make the airport viable so that we can prove the economic case for reopening our airport to the council.”

The council bought the airport from Balfour Beatty in September 2017 for £4.25m and is developing the Blackpool Airport Enterprise Zone.

The airport now focuses on executive private jet services and helicopter flights to offshore oil and gas rigs.

Before its last flight in 2014, airline Jet2 had two aircraft based at Blackpool and at its peak operated 11 different routes from the resort.