Flights could be taking off from Kent to popular holiday destinations such as Spain and the Canary Islands within the next five years, airport bosses hope.

It is envisaged one million passengers could travel through the Manston Airport terminal each year as those overseeing its relaunch say they are set to resume talks with big-name budget airlines.

Bosses claim the project to reopen the Thanet site could see it operating as a passenger airport once again by 2028, with bosses hoping to attract budget airlines - such as Ryanair, easyJet and Wizz Air - to offer flights to Europe.

It comes after a judicial review of the decision to allow the Thanet site to be transformed into a cargo hub was rejected by a High Court judge last week - paving the way for the airport’s revival.

Now, bosses from RiverOak Strategic Partners (RSP) - the company pushing ahead with the scheme - have revealed their ambitions to launch the “state-of-the-art” air freight hub in early-2026.

The firm’s director, Tony Freudmann, says work that was put on hold until the judicial review had been determined can now resume.

A public consultation is expected to be held this summer before construction work begins next year - which is set to last until the end of 2025.

Mr Freudmann says the launch date of the passenger airport “will depend on the demand from low-cost carriers, like Ryanair, easyJet and Wizz Air”.

“We’ve said we’re designing the airport so if they want to come and we can agree to a certain commercial relationship, they could be there right at the beginning when the cargo starts or follow a year or two later,” he said. “We will insist they have to base aircraft at Manston.”

Mr Freudmann says the airport did not have passenger aircraft based there before its closure in 2014, which caused long spells where the terminal was empty and made it “commercially unsuccessful”.

“The plan is for a low-cost carrier or two to come,” he added.

“People will remember the Dutch airline KLM, which was not based at Manston but flew in and out twice a day and connected to Amsterdam at Schiphol Airport. We’re pretty sure they’ll come back.

“If we have three low-cost aircraft based there and a double daily service to Amsterdam, that gives us the best of all worlds as we have low-price flights out of Manston and the connection to Schiphol which gives them access to the whole of the KLM global network.”

Mr Freudmann says discussions with low-budget airlines are set to resume after they were grounded due to the legal challenge lodged last year.

Asked which destinations could be accessible from Manston, he said: “The airlines know their business better than we do.

“Based on what they do from other airports, we think most of [the flights from Manston] will be to southern Europe and some will be to the north of England, Scotland and Ireland.

“Some flights may be to eastern Europe. Spain, Portugal, Canary Islands, Majorca, Balearic Islands, Greece, Cyprus - those kinds of destinations - with some in the UK.

“In the past, they have looked at flights to Manchester, Glasgow and Dublin.”

“They will decide that as they’re the experts and they know what works for them.”

The government originally granted a Development Consent Order (DCO) three years ago, a move that appeared to pave the way for the RSP-owned site to reopen.

But in February 2021, it was officially quashed by the High Court, following a judicial review launched by Ramsgate resident Jenny Dawes.

Despite this, the Department for Transport confirmed in August 2022 its DCO had once again been granted.

Just one month later, Ms Dawes filed a 1,200-page appeal claiming the reopening of Manston Airport would cause "irreparable harm to the people, environment and the economy of east Kent”.

This second bid to halt plans to reopen it was rejected by a High Court judge last week.

However, Ms Dawes has now lodged a request for the decision to be reviewed, which means she can renew the application so it can be heard in open court.

Mr Freudmann said: "The applicant is exercising her rights and the rules allow for a short hearing in front of a judge.

"The assumption is it will be a 30-minute hearing.

"She has to persuade the court that the judgement was wrong.

"We’ll make sure we’re present at the hearing and the rules say the hearing should take place as quickly as possible."

Mr Freudmann says the former airport only had one parking stand for cargo being loaded and unpacked - but the new site will have 19.

Construction work will see a “huge amount of berth movement” due to the gradient of the route from the runway to the parking stands being too high.

“We will also be building the cargo facilities, which are about three times the size of the largest Tesco,” he added.

“Across the road on the Northern Grass, we will be building storage facilities, cold stores and offices for freight forwarders and customs.”

The old terminal building was recently used to shoot a hospital scene in Empire of Light, a film starring Olivia Coleman and Colin Firth.

But it will have to be demolished as it is “past its life expectancy”, according to Mr Freudmann.

“Assuming we get the likes of easyJet or Ryanair coming in, we will build a new passenger terminal where it is at the moment, with some car parking,” he said.

“Parking will be restricted as we’re being encouraged to bring as many people as possible to the airport via public transport.

“We’re not talking Heathrow or Gatwick sizes. Heathrow has about 80 million passengers, Gatwick has about 45 million and we are forecasting about one million.

“It will be a nice, modern, passenger-friendly, but relatively small, terminal.”

Mr Freudmann says the project is expected to cost between £400 million to £500 million - and will be funded from “a combination of investment and long-term infrastructure loans from the kind of people who invest in airports”.

A Wizz Air spokesman said the airline “does not comment on speculation”, but “continually reviews its routes, bases and opportunities to expand”.

A spokesman for easyJet said it currently has no plans to operate from Manston. Ryanair did not respond to a request for comment.