IT is widely accepted that one of the key economic assets of any major city is a first-class international airport and Glasgow is no different.
The aviation industry suffered heavily during the pandemic and many jobs were lost, airlines went out of business. There has perhaps never been a more important time than now to back Glasgow Airport.
The topic of the airport’s recovery is prominent within the business community and especially with firms looking to expand their customer base in international markets.
An event the Chamber ran in partnership with Department of International Trade, Doing Business in North America, highlighted just this with some of Glasgow’s biggest employers praising the role the airport plays in providing the connectivity their business relies on.
Contributions from Scottish businesses such as AAC Clyde Space, Essence of Harris and Courageous Spirits who are all actively trading in USA and Canada, helps to paint that picture that the airport’s recovery and the city’s recovery are intertwined.
This growing band of exporters from such a variety of sectors adds to the argument for direct air routes from Glasgow to the USA and Canada. Twenty-five per cent of all Scotland’s exports by value pass through Glasgow Airport, ranging from premium whisky and fresh Scottish seafood to high-end medical and engineering equipment.
As it stands, we currently have WestJet flying direct to Nova Scotia and Ontario but there isn’t a single direct route to the USA from Glasgow. With the likes of JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley with significant headquarters in Glasgow new routes to key American cities will surely appeal.
Another area of importance is freight services from Glasgow which play a critical role for businesses.
Richard Jewsbury, Divisional Vice President UK for Emirates recently said: “Our cargo offering has also had a positive impact on Scotland’s import and export industry. Emirates SkyCargo, continues to play a significant role for the Scottish economy contributing to Scotland’s largest export industry, to destinations such as the Far East, South Africa and Australia. We are proud of our contribution to the local economy in Glasgow.”
Clusters of businesses also develop around airports and an economic impact report by York Aviation in 2019 highlighted that the city’s airport supported over 30,000 jobs, generating £1.44 billion of economic activity across Scotland each year.
Airspace Change Organising Group (ACOG), which was set up in 2019 and tasked by the Government with coordinating key elements of the UK’s Airspace Modernisation Strategy gives a nationwide view of the role of airports. Pre-pandemic we saw over £345bn worth of imports to the UK and over £490bn worth of exports from the UK.
Last week we also marked the first anniversary of COP26, when we heard from a panel of businesses who are making giant strides towards a more sustainable future. Derek Provan, chief executive of AGS Airport, was one of the speakers and highlighted their tangible progress throughout 2022 in balancing the undoubted economic benefits they deliver with their climate change responsibilities.
COP26 demonstrated that not only can our airport handle such high-profile events but that it can deliver a world class service to passengers.
However, it is no understatement to say the pandemic has set us back decades, and we must build on the good recovery work and on the existing connections to places such as Halifax, Toronto and Dubai and winning new routes, particularly to the US.
There is a clear need to have closer cooperation from government approaches on such policies as Trading Nation and Aviation Strategies. Competition is fierce with our European competitors with the likes of Germany having invested €820m to regional airports.
The aviation landscape has changed. There are fewer airlines with fewer aircraft, however there are the same number of airports across Europe. This means, as a city and a country, we will need to work even harder to sell Glasgow as an attractive destination and restore the connectivity that will drive our recovery.
Richard Muir is deputy chief executive of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce
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