New airport takes off

KENT INTERNATIONAL Airport, formerly the RAF base of Manston, became Britain's newest civil airport yesterday.

A spokesman for the airport, near Ramsgate on the Isle of Thanet, said it planned to handle a million passengers by the end of the year and six million eventually, offering flights to cities in Europe and North America.

The spokesman added that Kent International had been operating a limited number of civil flights under MoD control.

The airport spokesman said that as well as offering more passenger flights, including package flights, it would also handle more freight. It was hoped the expansion would rejuvenate a depressed area, eventually creating 3,000 jobs.