Nador and Al Hoceima are not mentioned in this article as well. These flights are operated by transavia.com and are on both charter- and direct sale basis.

http://www.businesstraveller.com/news/ba-to-launch-flights-to-leeds,-rotterdam-and-za

Presumably the cypriot/ukrainian cash, laundered and assets stripped, is now safe in he right tax-exempt accounts, so the employees and customers can go away and be grateful it wasn’t safety that was compromised?

Belfast City will really suffer, as it is unlikely that any other airline will step in to take over their routes, compared with better chances at EMA and BHX.

http://www.bmibaby.com/bmibaby/faqs/important_information.aspx

Although Granite have expressed interest in buying Regional, except for a few routes out of Aberdeen where premium prices might survive while the oil is there (other small specialists have failed in the past) without Star Alliance connectivity and a decent FFP, I don’t see it as financial survivor at all. As regards BMIBaby, thr rumours are that the announcement of its closure are only days away.

This would enable traffic to be managed more effectively and possibly allow various residential areas to have traffic free days. It’s possible curfews could also be extended.

A new pair would also provide new development space between them for new terminals.

A short third runway to the north won’t solve Heathrow’s problems – and building a mega airport in the Thames estuary will only put massive pressure on the south eastern corner of England and shift England’s only real global gateway further away from cities like Birmingham and Manchester.

Do nothing and Heathrow/London/England will continue to suffer because airlines want connectivity these days and are therefore unlikely to be tempted by Gatwick or Stansted etc.

Remember most importantly that just because an airport has more routes than another doesn’t mean it has more flights. For instance Manchester has around 6, 7 or 8 less routes than East Midlands but infact has more flights a week as each route is flown more frequently. So just because London-Stansted has gained 11 routes, doesn’t mean they’ve increased capacity, especially as alot of the new routes fly only a couple of times a week when the 3 lost were more regular running and they have probably cut the frequency of alot of existing routes from last summer.

In addition to the issues you raise there is the not so minor issue of ETOPS.

The B767-300 is a new aircraft/engine combination for CAL. CAL has no prior experience with over 60 minute ETOPS operations. In such circumstances both the FAA and UK CAA require a minimum of 6 months lead time to evaluate an ETOPS application (In the US it has taken Allegiant – a substantial airline – 18 months and counting to get ETOPS for its planned 757 operation to Hawaii).

While the TT CAA can fast track the ETOPS authority required, I suspect this will raise serious concerns as to its underlying oversight capabilities both with the FAA (with a downgrade to CAT 2 possible) and the UK CAA.