Airport chief vows to take sale turbulence in her stride

Nonetheless, Ms McMillan was wearing her blue and silver Prada training shoes on the evening of June 30, 2007, the date on which two terrorists drove a burning Jeep Cherokee into the airport’s main terminal building – and if that doesn’t bear out Hemingway’s definition, nothing will.

She confessed that she still has those prized Prada trainers, although she also expressed a modicum of concern that the mention of them might make her “appear vain”.

Back then, she was the operations director at the airport, and had been on maternity leave when the attack occurred.

Ms McMillan had called in to offer a helping hand during the crisis and ended up that evening negotiating with anti-terrorist police and ushering 3000 delayed passengers along a convoluted route from the first floor of the carpark into Terminal 2, thus bypassing the scene of the botched attack

“I was on maternity leave at the time,” she recalled.

“I’d already had the baby, who at this point was 10 weeks old. I was at home with my new son, and my mum phoned to say that I’d better turn on the telly.

“Once I saw what was going on, I immediately phoned the duty manager and made the necessary arrangements – which was interesting in itself, because it was the first time my husband had ever spent any time alone with any baby.

“I remember calling him at one point that night to see how things were going, and he was in a bit of a panic. He said it was like a nightmare there. Well, I’ve never let him live that one down!

“But I laughed, because of course there was a much bigger nightmare going on here. There had been a terrorist attack at the airport with two men in a burning jeep.

“The forecourt downstairs was flooded, police were everywhere, thousands of passengers were delayed and the place was pandemonium. Now that was a real crisis.”

She went on: “I just went into auto-pilot – excuse the pun.

“But my job was to get the airport re-opened. I was told there were hundreds of passengers in the carpark. Actually, I was told there were about 300 people there. In fact, it was more like 3000 and it was the busiest weekend of the year, right in the middle of the Glasgow Fair.

“At the same time, I was negotiating with the anti-terrorist police. I kept asking about when I’d be able to re-open my forecourt. I referred to it as my forecourt. And they kept telling me, ‘This isn’t your forecourt. This is a crime scene’.

“So movement through he main terminal at this point was out of the question.

“Then I figured I could get the passengers into Terminal 2 by taking them across the link bridge, but the police wouldn’t allow that either, because the windows there provided a direct view of the ongoing investigation.

“So I suggested covering the windows with paper, just to block the view, but they still said no.

“Then I asked one of the investigators, ‘Can I paint the windows?’ He gave me an exasperated look, and just said, ‘If you can get someone to paint the windows at this time of the night, okay’.

“So, that was it. We got someone to paint the windows and we began moving the passengers from the carpark to Terminal 2.

“It was a real testament to how resilient Glasgow people can be in a crisis.

“In the middle of all this, on the bridge, one of the passengers suddenly said to me, ‘I like your shoes’.

“I looked down and saw that I was wearing my Prada training shoes, which I had forgotten about. I just laughed, because it was one of those moments that makes working at Glasgow Airport wonderful.

“I’ve always said working at an airport is much more than a job. It’s a vocation.”

It could easily be argued that working at Glasgow Airport was always on the cards for Ms McMillan, a chartered accountant, who joined BAA from drinks giant Diageo in 2006 and two years later was promoted into the managing director’s position.

She was born in Linwood – directly beneath Glasgow Airport’s flight path.

Her father was in charge of the trim section at the former Hillman car factory in the town, and claims to have made the seat-covers on the Hillman Imp at the Museum of Transport in Glasgow.

“We’re from Linwood, so we’ve lived with Glasgow Airport all our lives,” said Ms McMillan.

“My dad still calls me up to tell me the Emirates flight is a bit late.”

To be sure, Glasgow Airport has not had the clearest of skies in which to operate over the past few years – given the impact of the global economic downturn, the collapse of airline flyglobespan, an ash cloud and walkouts by BA cabin crew, not to mention the recent pullback on package holidays to Tunisia.

At the same time, Edinburgh, after overtaking Glasgow as Scotland’s favourite airport in 2007, has seen steady growth in scheduled flights to European destinations, and is forecast to more than double its passenger numbers to 20 million between 2030 and 2040.

By contrast, Glasgow Airport lost more than two million passengers during the downturn. BAA says it expects to see 10 million people a year use the Glasgow hub by 2020 – a significant jump on the 6.5 million who crossed the terminal doors last year.

Nonetheless, passenger numbers at Glasgow Airport climbed for the first time in almost four years over the past quarter, with March figures up around 2.5%.

The rise comes after the shock decision by BMI to axe flights between Glasgow and London. Meanwhile at the same time, budget carrier Jet2 has brought with it 150 new jobs to Glasgow and added nine new European routes from the city’s airport.

Meanwhile, the traditional charter holiday market, which made up the bulk of Glasgow Airport’s traffic and has suffered some of the worst effects of the downturn, has also seen recent signs of rebounding.

In February, Glasgow Airport also announced £200 million investment plans for the next decade.

Now, in the middle of all this comes repeated speculation that Glasgow, which specialises in charter and long-haul flight (as opposed to its European destination-focused east coast counterpart), would be most likely to be sold by BAA, which is owned by Spanish infrastructure giant Ferrovial.

BAA has insisted no decision has yet been made on which Scottish airport will go on the market.

Aviation analysts claim Edinburgh’s continued growth against Glasgow makes it the leading contender to be kept – but its relative success would also fetch a higher price, helping Ferrovial with its debt problems.

Asked if she had concerns about the Competition Commission and potential sale by BAA, Ms McMillan’s response was defiant, and she said the company was still pinning its strategy on long-term growth.

“I very much support the view that successful cities need successful airports,” she said.

“And the fact is that Edinburgh may have the tourism, but Glasgow is one of the biggest conference centre hubs in the UK, not to mention the fact that we are a centre for long-haul and charter flights. So no matter who owns us, Glasgow Airport is not going anywhere.

“Despite the recent challenges, it remains a highly successful operation with enormous capacity for growth. It is a successful business in its own right that directly employs 450 staff, with another 4000 employed through the various airlines and retailers here.

“Personally, I still love it. When things become really stressful, all I have to do is walk around the terminal and talk to passengers or some of the retailers. Then I remember what it is all about.”

She added: “The airport has for a long time now been owned by groups which have permitted us to operate at arm’s length. It doesn’t really matter whether it’s Ferrovial or a Singaporean and Canadian pension fund.

“The chances are, if it comes to a sale, it will be business as usual.”