MPs to hear from Scottish airport bosses

[GeorgeNTravels]

The Scottish Affairs Committee will be holding its second evidence session as part of its Airports in Scotland inquiry.

During the evidence session, MPs will hear from:
Chief Executive at Edinburgh Airport
Managing Director at Highlands and Islands Airports Limited
The Director of Communications and Sustainability at AGS Airports, which owns Aberdeen International, Glasgow and Southampton Airports, will also be giving evidence.

Amongst the issues likely to be discussed on Monday are:

Support for airports during the covid-19 pandemic;
Travel connectivity for Scottish airports;
The environmental impact of airports;
Airspace modernisation.

Monday 10 January

From 3pm

Gordon Dewar, Chief Executive, Edinburgh airport
Inglis Lyon, Managing Director, Highlands and Islands Airports Limited
Brian McClean, Director of Communications and Sustainability, AGS Airports
During this inquiry, the Committee is considering the impact covid-19 has had on airports in Scotland. Airports have seen a drop in passenger numbers, and many airlines ceased operating temporarily during the height of the pandemic. Meanwhile, many airports in rural communities had to stay open for emergency services, key industry workers and cargo for crucial supplies.

Following COP26, the Committee is also keen to explore the impact that environmental policies are having on airports, and in particular what schemes are in place to reduce the carbon footprint of airports.

https://committees.parliament.uk/commit ... rnisation/

[Clive]

Dewar thinks Scotland is deeply unattractive. Maybe he should fluck off out of it then.

“Thousands of jobs have been lost at Scottish airports during the coronavirus pandemic with industry bosses saying restrictions have made the country a “deeply unattractive” destination.

Around 4400 people have lost their livelihoods at Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen airports since Covid-19 brought international travel to a near total halt in March 2020.

At its lowest, Edinburgh airport was experiencing less than 1% of pre-pandemic demand with its chief executive saying it was worse than be closed completely due to running costs.

At a meeting of the Scottish Affairs Committee on Monday, Scottish airport bosses warned they did not expect a return to normal international travel until 2025/26.

“We were very clearly legislated out of business,” Gordon Dewar, boss of Edinburgh Airport, told MPs.

“We as a business lost over £100m over that period and took on additional debt to cover that.

“We’ve got phenomenal restrictions in place at the moment, it’s only in the last week we’ve dropped the requirement for a pre-departure test.

“Consider the prospect of a person coming as an international visitor. It’s a deeply unattractive place to come for study or tourism.”

Brian McClean, director of communications and sustainability at AGS Airports Ltd, which own Glasgow and Aberdeen airports, said Covid had set the industry back decades.

“At Aberdeen we carried three million in 2019, last year we finished on 1.1m,” he said.

“At Glasgow we carried nine million in 2019, we finished at two million last year.

“The last time we carried two million was in 1973.”

Airports took advantage of the UK furlough scheme and business rates relief from the Scottish Government, but said they had not had any sector-specific support.

Despite a spike in bookings over the weekend, the industry chiefs said passenger confidence is hit every time new restrictions are implemented.

With the twists and turns of the pandemic over the last two years, likened to a “rollercoaster”, they said it would take years for the travel industry to recover.

AGS Airports Ltd said 2000 jobs had been lost at Glasgow, and 400 at Aberdeen.

Edinburgh Airport said 2000 had been lost across the facility’s campus.

The Scottish Government has been asked for comment.”

Full story: https://news.stv.tv/scotland/covid-cost ... attractive

[atuk]

As one of those who actually works in the industry, albeit not on a daily basis, I agree fully with sentiments made by those who run our airports.

The impact of Covid19 has ravaged what was a growing industry decimating not only jobs but also smashing career paths to smithereens. The tragedy is there was, and is, no clear path or practical help given to secure a way forward if and when a recovery occurs. Yes, I acknowledge the furlough scheme was a godsend, but it was not unique to the aviation industry.

What is required now, and urgently, is a loan scheme to underpin running costs and training, to ensure that staff can be retained and trained in different roles, products and simply beef up numbers from the bare minimum applied. That way it helps reduces queueing whilst documents are checked and also speeds up the boarding process at the gates. The loan can be repaid in instalments once profitability is attained and take priority over dividends, bonuses and investment.


Two flies in the ointment though: the airline whose strapline song is “ Cheap fares....” and the saga of a tennis player’s visa. One has decimated its January through spring flight schedule impacting folks salaries as hours, and in some cases, jobs are trashed. The other is “ why can’t I fly, he could”

[Clive]

As one of those who actually works in the industry, albeit not on a daily basis, I agree fully with sentiments made by those who run our airports.

Do you too think Scotland is deeply unattractive? As one of those who actually enjoys Scotland’s natural and built environment, I strongly disagree.

[atuk]

[quote=atuk post_id=5607 time=<a href="tel:1641877112">1641877112</a> user_id=75]
As one of those who actually works in the industry, albeit not on a daily basis, I agree fully with sentiments made by those who run our airports.

Do you too think Scotland is deeply unattractive? As one of those who actually enjoys Scotland’s natural and built environment, I strongly disagree.
[/quote]

Of course I don’t think that Scotland is deeply unattractive - however as a destination with all the travel restrictions imposed, the frequent change of restrictIons and the lack of continuity, a high cost destination all contributed to extremely low inbound visitor numbers.

[Clive]

[quote=atuk post_id=5607 time=<a href="tel:1641877112">1641877112</a> user_id=75]
As one of those who actually works in the industry, albeit not on a daily basis, I agree fully with sentiments made by those who run our airports.

Do you too think Scotland is deeply unattractive? As one of those who actually enjoys Scotland’s natural and built environment, I strongly disagree.

Of course I don’t think that Scotland is deeply unattractive - however as a destination with all the travel restrictions imposed, the frequent change of restrictIons and the lack of continuity, a high cost destination all contributed to extremely low inbound visitor numbers.
[/quote]

That’s a global phenomenon and far from unique to Scotland. It’s because there is a global pandemic.

Perhaps Dewar would be more credible or garner more sympathy if he stated discretionary/leisure travel in a global pandemic is deeply unattractive, rather than stating Scotland is.

You’d think someone in his position would be a bit more self aware or have some media training or something to stop his mouth running away with itself.

Brian McLean from AGS/GLA was on the radio this morning. While answering questions on the impact on the business of Covid he didn’t try to talk Scotland down nor did he try to undermine the scientific and public health experts who across the globe are trying their best to save millions of lives and get the economy back to full health as quickly as possible by reducing the impact of the virus on all of us.

[hads]

I despise everything about Holyrood and the decisions made there but perspective is required.
Retail- Buggered
Hospitality-Buggered
Building and Manufacture-Buggered
just three examples due to Covid. Travel and tourism is not a special case. The UK locked its borders as far as possible to prevent deaths. You can argue all you want wether it was correct or not. France is still locked. America was locked. Middle East was locked. What do the airport bosses wish to have happened?
Treat Scotland as a separate case and keep the borders open only to find that toursits from other parts of the globe were not permitted to come here by their own governments?
Absolute nonsense from Senior managers. They should know, and do know better. Its virtue signalling and as such, Im throwing it in the sea.

[Clive]

I despise everything about Holyrood and the decisions made there but perspective is required.
Retail- Buggered
Hospitality-Buggered
Building and Manufacture-Buggered
just three examples due to Covid. Travel and tourism is not a special case. The UK locked its borders as far as possible to prevent deaths. You can argue all you want wether it was correct or not. France is still locked. America was locked. Middle East was locked. What do the airport bosses wish to have happened?
Treat Scotland as a separate case and keep the borders open only to find that toursits from other parts of the globe were not permitted to come here by their own governments?
Absolute nonsense from Senior managers. They should know, and do know better. Its virtue signalling and as such, Im throwing it in the sea.

Agree with all but the first sentence, with the slight caveat that you said the UK locked its borders as far as possible. That’s debatable. As an island group we could have locked them as tightly as Australia and New Zealand did, and at least domestic life and indeed mortal life could have continued as their’s did.

But yes, the vociferous and ruddy-faced airport bosses (aka Dewar), as with all big industry bosses with vested interests which are money driven rather than societal wellbeing or public health responsibilities, make me sick.

Especially when they all claim to know better than the actual experts in the fields of medical science, virology, immunology, intensive care wards, etc.

There was a prat from the Aberdeen Chamber of Commerce doing just that on the radio this morning while the UK reports more people dying and 142,000 new cases IN ONE DAY!

Said it many times - stick to their own jobs and let the public health experts stick to theirs.

[GeorgeNTravels]

Article on the BBC within the last hour or so

Scotland's airports have warned it could be 2026 before passenger numbers recover to pre-pandemic levels.

The numbers at Glasgow Airport have dropped to levels not seen since 1973 and its owner AGS is warning of a "hugely challenging" period ahead.

The impact of Covid restrictions means the industry is being "legislated out of business" according to Gordon Dewar, chief executive of Edinburgh Airport.

Nicola Sturgeon will give an update on Covid restrictions later.

Brian McClean, of AGS Airports, which owns Aberdeen and Glasgow airports, told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme: "We were one of the first to feel the impact of the pandemic and I do believe we'll be one of the last to recover.

"When we come out of this there will be less airlines, with less routes but there's going to be the same number of airports so that means our recovery will be intensively competitive.

"I think the economy needs us to recover but I do believe it is going to take longer, beyond 2025/26 before we return to pre-pandemic levels."

Mr McClean highlighted that Glasgow Airport carried just below nine million passengers in 2019 and this was down to two million last year - the lowest annual tally since 1973.

Across both Aberdeen and Glasgow airports, about 2,500 jobs have been lost - both directly and indirectly - since the start of the pandemic as a result of the dramatic fall in passenger numbers.

Inglis Lyon, managing director of Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd (Hial), said the publicly-funded company had suffered "eye-watering" losses due to Covid.

Hial operates 11 airports, including Campbeltown, Sumburgh and Dundee.

In 2020-21, the company recorded losses of almost £2.6m after travel restrictions and lockdowns contributed to an almost 77% reduction in passenger numbers.

'Worse than being closed'
On Monday, Mr Lyon told Westminster's Scottish Affairs committee that retaining Inverness Airport's link to Heathrow was a key part to helping Hial recover from the pandemic.

He said: "These things hang by a thread when the industry is under the pressure it is under, both in terms of aircraft availability, in terms of profitability, in terms of eye-watering losses over the last two years."

At the same committee hearing, Gordon Dewar, chief executive of Edinburgh Airport, said the industry had been on a "rollercoaster ride" and had been "legislated out of business".

He said: "At the bottom of the curve, we were down at less than 1% of pre-pandemic levels of demand, which is actually worse than being closed - all the costs of being open but very little revenue to support that."

Reports of a spike in airline travel in the past week show there is a "pent-up demand" according to the industry.

Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland- ... s-59950976

[atuk]

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.