Newquay Airport granted licence

An estimated 7,000 passengers had to use alternative airports

Newquay Airport is to reopen after being granted an operating licence from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

The airport closed on 1 December when Cornwall County Council failed to secure the licence.

Flights were suspended because of CAA concerns about air traffic control, fire cover and runway maintenance, all previously provided by the RAF.

The council said it was "delighted" at the decision and that the airport would reopen on 20 December.

CAA standards

The neighbouring RAF St Mawgan base stopped providing support because of its mothballing by the MoD, meaning the council had to provide the services to secure a licence.

As part of its take-over operation, the council had to resurface the runway, build a new air traffic control tower and improve security.

However, the CAA deemed the works were not suitable at the beginning of the month, when the licence was due to be issued, and it delayed its approval.

An estimated 7,000 passengers were affected by the closure and had to use alternative airports, including Plymouth, Land's End, Bristol and Bournemouth.

The councillor responsible for the Newquay Airport project, Andrew Mitchell, said the council was "obviously delighted" to have achieved finally certification and that Cornwall "had an airport to be proud of".

The runway was resurfaced as part of the work

He said: "I am really looking forward to watching our new civil airport go from strength to strength in the coming years.

"We have exciting plans for the growth and development of the airport to benefit Cornwall as a whole."

Although the airport will be able to handle flights from Saturday morning, not all of the airlines will resume flying immediately.

BBC South West Business Correspondent Neil Gallacher said: "We expect all airlines apart from Ryanair to be back in business.

"They famously said they had so little confidence in Cornwall County Council that they wouldn't take bookings until March."

Airlines have 24 hours to get their planes in to the correct airport slots to be able to fly to and from Newquay.

Passengers are advised to contact airlines for confirmation that they will be flying from Cornwall.