EastEnders actor in emergency landing at Manston hours before its closure
A light aircraft with former EastEnders actor Cliff Parisi on board was forced to make an emergency landing at Manston Airport just hours before it closed.
According to the BBC, the plane had to divert to the Kent airport yesterday morning when the pilot reported engine trouble.
Parisi, who starred in the role of Rick ‘Minty’ Peterson in EastEnders and also starred in the BBC drama The Midwife, said he would have ended up "in the drink" if the airport had not still been open.
It closed just hours later at 5pm after its owners said they had received no "credible or viable" offers to buy it.
They had rejected three offers from US investment firm RiverOak.
In a last ditch attempt to save the airport, the Unite union had called on Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin to insist that the airport’s owner kept its Civil Aviation Authority licence operational.
Unite has been campaigning to save the airport on behalf of its 150 workforce.
The union had the support of Sir Roger Gale, Conservative MP for Thanet North, who said there was absolutely no reason why Manston Airport should close, other than "the unwillingness on the part of the Manston group to negotiate at all".
Last October, the site was bought for £1 by Ann Gloag, the co-founder of the Stagecoach Group.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Digital Travel Reporter of the Mirror totally seduced by HotelPlanner AI Travel Agent
Strike action set to cause travel chaos at Brussels airports