MPs to hear from Scottish airport bosses

[Clive]

I’ve read the comments and make no apology for what I’m about to say.

Aviation IS a special case. We rely on it for shipment of goods - how many POE flights arrived in GLA since the start of the pandemic.

It allows the quick and ,in normal circumstances, the seamless movement of people, goods and mail from continent to continent. It supports many hundreds of thousands of jobs both directly and indirectly in the UK. Airports and ancillary services around them support many local economies and if you cast your mind back to 2010 when Europe’s skies were closed due to the Icelandic volcano you'll remember exactly how folks, goods and services were impacted.

Yes Covid is first for all of us and it has wrecked havoc on many, many industries and services however without aviation we simply cannot function. I’m not ex luring outbound and inbound leisure travel fro the equation - the impact will be felt in many European countries: Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece and Turkey to name a few.

Just consider how many European countries gave direct aid to both airlines and airports and you’ll see exactly how it is not a level playing field. The U.K. has done nothing like this and has not provided any specific targeted aid to aid the industry through the tough times it’s now facing.

If aviation isn’t important and doesn’t need to figure in our economy ask yourselves exactly why PIK hasn’t been ditched and funds recovered.

The trouble is/was that unrestricted international travel is not compatible with global virus control efforts. That’s not political. It’s just a fact that every country on the globe has had to wrestle with.

The airline industry has had financial support in line with all other sectors. The direct aid in other European countries that you mentioned may have been to state-owned airlines rather than private sector ones. If only we had state-owned industries, eh?

[atuk]

Well we do have state owned industries. There is a state owned bank, a Scottish one at that, which now calls itself after its English subsidiary!

As far as I’m aware both Lufthansa AG and KLM continue to be listed on the Frankfurt and Amsterdam Stock Exchanges and have both received direct government aid approved by Brussels. As have TUI and Condor who both received bailouts to help them through and Condor itself is majority owned by the German equivalent if what was once in the U.K. ; Investors Industry, known as 3i.

Of course other state owned industries closer to home are Prestwick Airport, Ferguson Marine, Scotrail, BiFab and Caledonian Macbrayne. All of which are roaring successes - not!

[hads]

No need to apologise. You were far from offensive. This is your position. Thats fine.
I dont agree and thats wha topinions are all about.

[Clive]

No need to apologise. You were far from offensive. This is your position. Thats fine.
I dont agree and thats wha topinions are all about.

It’s funny because this morning we had a bloke called Gavin who is a spokesperson for the Night Time Industries Association saying his industry was by far the biggest sufferer of Covid restrictions and it is being targeted unfairly.

That puts him at odds with the claims of the beleaguered travel and tourism industry, and, no doubt, with every other industry.

He also claims that so called vaccine passports , which have allowed mass gatherings to happen, should be scrapped.

Basically he wants a free for all and to hell with the consequences.

Another, bloke, this time from a basketball team was saying it’s unfair that mass gatherings at outdoor football and rugby matches are being allowed from next week but for a further 7 days large indoor events are not being allowed.

Again, he either wants no restrictions on his sector or no restrictions at all.

So which industry wins top trumps?

As I say, every vested interest tries to claim victimisation and a special power in not being a Covid complicator. They all just sound like blooming idiots.

None of them are right and all of them should be ashamed of themselves IMO.

[atuk]

[quote=hads post_id=5634 time=<a href="tel:1641983895">1641983895</a> user_id=150]
No need to apologise. You were far from offensive. This is your position. Thats fine.
I dont agree and thats wha topinions are all about.

It’s funny because this morning we had a bloke called Gavin who is a spokesperson for the Night Time Industries Association saying his industry was by far the biggest sufferer of Covid restrictions and it is being targeted unfairly.

That puts him at odds with the claims of the beleaguered travel and tourism industry, and, no doubt, with every other industry.

He also claims that so called vaccine passports , which have allowed mass gatherings to happen, should be scrapped.

Basically he wants a free for all and to hell with the consequences.

Another, bloke, this time from a basketball team was saying it’s unfair that mass gatherings at outdoor football and rugby matches are being allowed from next week but for a further 7 days large indoor events are not being allowed.

Again, he either wants no restrictions on his sector or no restrictions at all.

So which industry wins top trumps?

As I say, every vested interest tries to claim victimisation and a special power in not being a Covid complicator. They all just sound like blooming idiots.

None of them are right and all of them should be ashamed of themselves IMO.
[/quote]

Someone from hospitality was interviewed on Radio Scotland on Friday morning claiming that grant monies promised hadn’t been received yet.

I still stand by my comments and make no apology for doing so. Without a string, successful, vibrant aviation industry the UK economy is “totalement foutou”!

[Clive]

Here’s some light bedtime reading - the full transcript of the meeting:

https://committees.parliament.uk/oralev ... 3243/html/

[Clive]

Frigging telt you. GLA has gone to the dark side.

They can no longer count on my support for anything.

AGS Chair Lena Wilson CBE joins UK Government Business Council


“AGS Airports Ltd Chair Lena Wilson CBE has been made a member of UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Business Council.

Lena was appointed AGS Airports Chair in May last year and is one of the UK’s most respected senior business figures.

The former Senior Investment Advisor to the World Bank in Washington DC and CEO of Scottish Enterprise joins 27 other members from a range of industries and sectors, including manufacturing, financial services, energy, and world-renowned science and technology sectors.

The revamped Business Council, co-chaired by the Chancellor Rishi Sunak, will work in partnership with the UK Government, helping to drive a high productivity, high growth economy over the next 12 months and level up local economies around the country.

The Council will also support the UK’s recovery from Covid-19 and prioritise delivering the green industrial revolution, creating new jobs and developing a skilled workforce, and unlocking global investment.

Building on the successes of last year’s Build Back Better Business Council, the Business Council will retain and implement the three core pillars of the Plan for Growth framework – infrastructure, innovation, and skills – against which Council members will continue to translate goals into measurable action.

Lena, who has also served as a member of Scotland's Financial Services Advisory Board and as Chair of Scotland's Energy Jobs Taskforce, said: “The routes, services and jobs delivered by the aviation industry play a key role in supporting our economy and will continue to do so as we look to rebuild the vital connectivity needed for the UK to thrive on a global stage.

“Our post-pandemic recovery also presents us with an opportunity for climate action. The UK’s aviation industry continues to lead the way and was the first to publish a national net-zero aviation commitment anywhere in the world, so I look forward to working with both the UK Government and the Business Council while representing this most crucial sector.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “We’ve got one of Europe’s most open economies thanks to our vaccine rollout programme, and with Plan B restrictions firmly behind us we can now go further to turbocharge the economy and unleash the benefits of Brexit.

“Harnessing the extraordinary powers of our new Business Council, together we will knuckle down on creating new high skilled, high wage jobs, driving innovation in science and tech, and mobilising investment to deliver the green industrial revolution – all while levelling up and securing the UK as the best place to do business.”

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said: “Thanks to the speed of our vaccine rollout and unprecedented package of covid support we have the fastest growing economy in the G7 – and it’s vital we continue on that path by grasping the opportunities ahead.

“We’re investing billions in innovation, infrastructure and skills to release the potential of the whole of the UK and ensure the UK continues to be the most attractive place in the world to do business.

“This new Businesses Council will help drive this vision forward and ensure our Plan for Growth is delivered successfully - levelling up across the country and powering a high growth, high productivity economy.”

The Business Secretary and Trade Secretary will be standing members, with the addition of the Education Secretary to focus on skills. Other Cabinet Ministers will attend meetings as required.

The first meeting of the Prime Minister’s Business Council is scheduled for the coming weeks, and will be co-chaired by the Prime Minister and the Chancellor.“

[Clive]

Dewar’s just been on the radio again, moaning about the past Covid protection measures and just about everything else. Boo frckin’ hoo. Maybe he should spend a week in the shoes of an ICU nurse, an exhausted grave digger or indeed as the boss of a less fortunate airport.

Can’t stand it when industry fat cats moan about business not being good as it once was. At least they are still alive.