When authorities in Coventry commenced plans for a civilian airport in 1933, could it ever have foreseen that it would end up becoming the first airport to receive an official papal visit? Admittedly it would take almost 50 years for His Holiness John Paul II to visit, but that didn't make the occasion any less memorable. Indeed, there were plans for Pope Benedict XVI to revive the tradition in 2010. When it came to the earthly business of turning a profit, Coventry was less successful.