Neither Gothic nor strictly Greek Revival

 We are heading towards an airport.  As confessed before, I haven’t flown enough still not to be excited by it.  I was very excited for my first flight and it never has gone away.



Picture the scene. Luton Airport - gateway to paradise, or Harpenden.  We had visited Luton Hoo ‘ to quote wiki, ‘ neither Gothic nor strictly Greek Revival, ‘ and then neared the airport by way of reconnaissance.  It was 1972.  We were off to Switzerland.  Why Switzerland and not Malaga I hear you ask?  Well…. Mum had got tuberculosis in the late 40s. Having had a large amount of lung removed and in the pre-Clean Air Act East London, she was told she had to go to Switzerland for six months to recover.  This was not something that granddad, a carpenter on the LNER, could afford.  Thanks to the kindness of a neighbour she went for six weeks.  This I found out years later.  As for my first journey.  I got on the plane - a late flight - and fell asleep.  I woke mid flight and bawled my eyes out.  Next day I was fresh as a daisy.  Various bits of family were woken up to take me on walks.




Murcia’s first airport was San Javier Airport. It was a military base, located at the northern end of the current airport. Its passengers jumped from 88,000 in 1995 to 1,181,000 in 2012.  A new airport was needed. 




Region de Murcia International Airport was opened in 2019.   The airport has a single passenger terminal of 28,500 m2 and a single runway 3,000 metres long and 45 metres wide. Its initial capacity is 3 million passengers and 23,000 fights per year, with options for an increase to 5 million passengers - which is a shame as it only gets 900,0000 users, less than San Javier got in its prime.




Manchester is its busiest route - with 126,000 in 2024, up 16%.  Gatwick had 110,000 users, down 30%.  Of the top ten destinations, 8 are British, Dublin is fourth.  Only Oujda, in Morocco, at 8th is not from the British Isles.



So we end the day.


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