Open Hero Bids Kent Goodbye from Manston
Newly crowned Darren Clarke, Open Champion 2011, was one of the last to fly out from Manston, heading back home to Belfast to continue the celebrations after his victory at Royal St George’s in Sandwich.
His departure from Manston, Kent’s International Airport, near Ramsgate, marked what the airport’s management believe has been the busiest weeks in terms of traffic for many years. The airport handled 74 golf related aircraft movements as part of the visit of the Open to the county.
Charles Buchanan, Chief Executive of Manston, said: “The airport welcomed many of the world’s leading golfers and entourage from the organisers, the Royal and Ancient, and PGA, which included chartered Boeing 767 transatlantic flights.”
In terms of Kent’s legacy from this year’s visit by the Open, Charles Buchanan, added: “With our scheduled flights linking Kent to the home of golf near Edinburgh and to the home of the new Open champion in Belfast, we hope that increased numbers of golfers will come and play the magnificent courses we have in Kent and retrace the steps of the champion.”
As well as handling event-related flights, Manston’s scheduled services to and from Edinburgh and Belfast City, operated by Flybe, were also very busy. Following the victory of Rory McIlroy in the US Open, Flybe’s flights to Kent from Belfast saw a dramatic increase in bookings, with his fans eager to see if he could complete a double.