The boss of Glasgow Airport claims Nicola Sturgeon has today sent a message that the aviation industry is “not a priority” for the Scottish Government,
Reacting to the First Minister’s statement on plans for eventual easing of coronavirus-related restrictions, Derek Provan claimed Ms Sturgeon had sent “a very worrying signal to our airports, our airlines and the thousands of staff our sector supports”.
READ MORE: Ian McConnell: Paris metro poster for slapstick British farce evokes Brexit metaphor
Mr Provan, chief executive of Glasgow, Aberdeen and Southampton airports owner AGS Airports, said: “Yesterday the Prime Minister provided a clear framework for the safe restart of international aviation. Today the First Minister provided a clear message the aviation industry is not a priority for the Scottish Government. We received no plan or framework against which we can start plotting any form of recovery.”
READ MORE: Ian McConnell: Brexit could have taken many forms. Cheshire Cat Boris Johnson chose this one
He added: “This sends a very worrying signal to our airports, our airlines and the thousands of staff our sector supports. We find ourselves in a position where airports and airlines in England can start planning to safely reopen in time for the summer, yet in Scotland we are left with more questions than answers.
"It is now two weeks since the Scottish Government committed to setting up an aviation working group and it has still to meet. This lack of meaningful engagement cannot continue.”
Mr Sturgeon said: "From 26 April assuming the data allows it - we will move back to levels, with hopefully all of Scotland that is currently in level 4 moving to level 3, albeit with some possible modifications. At that stage, we will begin to re-open the economy and society in the more substantial way that we are all so longing for.
"It is important to stress, of course, that all of this depends on us continuing to suppress the virus now - and continuing to accept some trade-offs for a period, for example on international travel. But if we do so, I am optimistic that we can make good progress in returning more normality to our lives and the economy."
She added: "I know this is still a cautious approach which though absolutely essential to control the virus and protect health, is nevertheless extremely difficult for many businesses."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel