Airport in head office relocation

EUjet began flights from Manston airport in September

The owners of Manston airport have announced they are to relocate the firm's head office from London to Kent.

PlaneStation said the move was designed to create a central management team to run the airport and airline firm EUjet.

EUjet began flying from Manston in September and three weeks later PlaneStation said it had raised £5m for a controlling stake in the firm.

Moving the head office will see about 150 more jobs created at Manston with 30 posts relocated from Ireland.

'Right model'

PlaneStation chief executive Martin May said the head office would be operating from Manston by the end of 2004.

He said: "Bringing together an airport operating group with an airline operator creates a dynamic business with tremendous potential.

"We need a unified management structure and integrated operations systems to maximise this potential.

"Moving our head office to the airport will ensure that directors and senior managers remain close to the all important day-to-day operations of the business.

"This is certainly good news for PlaneStation and EUjet and is also good news for Kent which will now have strong growth company based in the county with the potential to create new jobs in the short, medium and long term."

EUjet managing director PJ McGoldrick said: "We are ground breaking and the more we work on the project the more we are convinced that this is the right model for success."

The 30 jobs being relocated from Ireland are from EUjet's offices in Shannon.

EUjet operates services to 15 European destinations from Kent International Airpot at Manston.