Blackpool MP has welcomed the decision by Blackpool Council to purchase Blackpool Airport from Bafour Beatty in a deal worth £4.25m.



It brings the airport into full public ownership for the first time in 13 years after it was sold to a private consortium in 2004.

Gordon told the Gazette: “The council is making a very important and strategic decision which should be welcomed.

“I have long felt that we need to secure the future of the airport as an aviation centre and that cannot be achieved if it passes into the hands of people who would simply be focused on housing or retail development.”

But he said that future commercial passenger flights would depend on air operators and people should not expect a swift return to holiday flights since the area’s lack of capacity to fill large jets had caused big losses in the past.

Gordonsaid: “The strategic fit which the council is saying is the key factor is absolutely right. The Enterprise Zone and the existing activities at the airport offer significant potential for development in the future given the commercial activities in Liverpool Bay with energy and other renewables.

“It absolutely has to be carefully maintained financially but the idea that it should be a central part of economic strategy locally is completely correct.”

He added that commercial flights could return if the Government would consider subsidies for regional airports to help with security and safety overheads.