Plans to re-open Manston Airport have been dealt a blow, after a report by industry experts said that it would not be commercially viable. The report, commissioned by Thanet District Council, has disappointed campaigners and the US investment company River Oak.

The latter is battling to acquire the site from the current owners, who want to develop it for homes and businesses; it described the report as “thin on evidence” and “irrelevant”.

The report says that it would take decades for any investor who took on Manston as a cargo operation to make any money; even then, any chance of success would depend on there being no increase in aviation capacity in the South East for 50 years, which is unlikely.

River Oak said it will continue its bid to re-open the site as an airport, and it called on the council not to make any decisions until it had published its own dossier.

“The report is extremely thin when it comes to the evidence on freight demand. The only ‘forecast’ it relies on is in fact a statement of freight volumes from 2000-2012, whereas it is widely accepted that there is a considerable — and growing — level of unsatisfied demand.”