There is a great deal going on in and around Prestwick Airport and, while much remains to be seen and it is important not to be complacent, there seems to be room for optimism.
European plane maker Airbus last week revealed it would acquire Spirit AeroSystems’ major manufacturing operation at Prestwick and take on the vast bulk of the workforce at this site. This is part of a global deal with Boeing, and follows the US plane maker’s agreement last year to buy Spirit.
The Spirit operation at Prestwick is a key part of the aerospace cluster in and around the airport.
And there had naturally been uncertainty in the wake of last summer’s announcement by Boeing of its acquisition of Spirit over what would happen to the latter’s manufacturing plant at Prestwick.
The deal announced on Monday last week is expected to result in around 1,150 of the approximately 1,200 employees of Spirit at Prestwick transferring to Airbus.
Airbus declared it would “assess its long-term strategy” for the Prestwick manufacturing site following the agreement with Boeing and Spirit to acquire this operation.
It was difficult to know exactly how to interpret this declaration.
However, there have been no signs in the days following the deal’s announcement of any particular fears over the future of the Spirit operation at Prestwick as a result of the transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals and expected to be completed in the third quarter.
And you might expect worries to have been voiced if there was reason for concern at this stage over the Prestwick plant, given trade unions have highlighted fears over jobs at Spirit operations in Belfast that are also part of the Airbus deal.
Scottish Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes, for her part, welcomed the acquisition of the Spirit operation at Prestwick by Airbus, and this also perhaps suggests grounds for optimism.
Ms Forbes said: “We welcome the announcement that an agreement has been reached for Spirit’s Airbus activity at Prestwick to transfer to Airbus later this year.
“Spirit is a key component of Scotland’s aerospace sector and the Ayrshire site has excellent manufacturing and innovative capabilities and a talented workforce.”
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The Prestwick acquisition by Airbus is part of a definitive agreement with Spirit and Boeing for the purchase of industrial assets around the globe dedicated to the European plane maker’s commercial aircraft programmes.
Airbus said last week: “In Prestwick, Airbus-related work packages will transfer to Airbus under a pre-agreed option with Spirit. These operations support the A320 and A350 programmes. While Prestwick will be acquired to ensure continuity of production, it will operate as an affiliate business. Airbus will assess its long-term strategy for the site as part of ongoing industrial planning.”
Asked by The Herald if Airbus could give any further details on the reference to assessing the long-term strategy for the Prestwick site, and specifically on whether that pointed to investment in it or if there was a possibility of closure or ending operations there, a spokeswoman for the European plane maker replied: “Our current focus is on stabilising the operations and supporting the employees transferring to Airbus. We can't speculate on the future outlook for any sites, especially during an ongoing legal and regulatory process.”
While this response does not provide any categoric long-term assurances about the future of the Spirit operation at Prestwick, there is not anything negative in it when it comes to the prospects for the Ayrshire operation.
Although categoric assurances about the long-term future of the operation would clearly have been welcome, the point about not being able to “speculate” during an “ongoing legal and regulatory process” in relation to the deal seems entirely understandable.
On the question of the number of employees being taken on by Airbus from Spirit at Prestwick, the Airbus spokeswoman said: “Spirit’s Prestwick operations employ approximately 1,200 people. This includes approximately 1,150 employees working on Airbus-related manufacturing, including fixed leading edges, trailing edges and the spoilers for the A320 and A350 programmes, who are expected to transfer to Airbus.
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“The remaining employees, including those working in the Aerospace Innovation Centre (AIC), will not transfer to Airbus and are expected to transfer to Boeing under the broader transaction.”
The Spirit operation at Prestwick is part of an aerospace cluster in and around the Ayrshire airport which employs about 4,000 people.
Prestwick Airport, which was rescued in 2013 when the Scottish Government bought it from Infratil of New Zealand for £1, forecast in February that its direct workforce would rise from 354 to around 400 with expansion plans for its cargo operations.
Of course, Prestwick Airport itself is for sale.
Ms Forbes, speaking to The Herald late last month, highlighted the Scottish Government’s “very clear lines” that it wants Prestwick Airport to continue to operate as an airport after any sale, following confirmation in late March by First Minister John Swinney that there is an active bid for the airport.
She said then that the Scottish Government continued to “make progress” in terms of its aspirations to return Prestwick Airport to the private sector.
However, Ms Forbes added she was unable to provide an update on the active bid for Prestwick Airport confirmed in late March by Mr Swinney - declaring the matter was “so commercially sensitive”.
It is to be hoped that, if there is a deal to buy Prestwick Airport, the new owner will build on what has been achieved there in recent times, and pursue growth.
The airport has been in profit for five consecutive years, and the expansion plans for the cargo operations look exciting.
Nico Le Roux, who heads Prestwick Airport’s cargo operations, told The Herald in an exclusive interview in February that the airport expects to more than treble cargo revenues to in excess of £10 million a year, viewing e-commerce flights as a “game changer” after winning major business from Hong Kong.
The airport, and the aerospace cluster around it, have a great deal going for them.
Against a difficult UK economic backdrop, it is more crucial than ever that fantastic assets like these are used to best effect.
Hopefully, over the years and decades ahead, the stewards of the airport and the aerospace operations in and around it will maximise the potential of these assets, providing crucial employment including many high-value jobs and benefiting the Scottish economy.
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