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The UK airport with plans for 15-minute flights to France – and it’s only an hour from London

AN airport in the UK is hoping to relaunch flights to Europe - and flights could take just 15 minutes.

And even better, it's going to get much easier to get there, with a new train service to take around one hour from London.

Manston Airport hopes to launch new flights to France - and they could take just 15 minutes
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Manston Airport hopes to launch new flights to France - and they could take just 15 minutesCredit: Alamy
The flights would connect Kent to Le Touquet
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The flights would connect Kent to Le TouquetCredit: Alamy
Manston Airport was abandoned in 2014, although has been used as a filming location and lorry park
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Manston Airport was abandoned in 2014, although has been used as a filming location and lorry parkCredit: Google

Manston Airport, in Kent, first opened in 1916 and was used during WWI and WWII.

However, the RAF left the airport in 1996, and it officially closed in 2014.

But new plans are hoping to launch new flights connecting the UK and Europe.

This will include flights to Le Touqet in France, which will take around 15 minutes.

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Even better, a new train station is opening this year, which will connect the airport to London.

Thanet Parkway Station is set to open this summer, which will offer bus services from the train station to the airport.

It will be quick, taking around 67 minutes from London St Pancras.

You may have to wait a while to fly though - the huge renovation project is likely to take until 2026.

And Manston Airport will initially only open as a cargo airport, although passenger flights will follow depending on its success.

Passenger flights could take off by 2028 - and other destinations could even include Spain, Cyprus and Malta.

Airlines such as KLM could return, while other budget airlines such as Ryanair and easyJet could too.

Since its closure, it has been used for other things, such as as a filming location, most recently the Sam Mendes blockbuster Empire of Light, as well as a lorry park for drivers stuck between the UK and France.

It's not the only UK airport hoping to reopen either.

Doncaster Sheffield Airport, which closed in November 2022, could reopen thanks to a new multi-million-pound plan.

And Plymouth Airport hopes to reopen after being closed for more than a decade.

Le Touquet, in France, is twinned with the town of Witney in Oxfordshire
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Le Touquet, in France, is twinned with the town of Witney in OxfordshireCredit: Getty
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