Isn’t it better for SOU to invest in two or three years time rather than right in the middle of this crisis!? What airlines are they banking on now??? They should pause the process.
As for potential airlines, who would come in? Ryanair have already publicly stated they wouldn’t come to SOU. Wizzair could come in but they just announced LGW so doubt it. Plus they are likely to quit super fast if it doesn’t work. Jet2 is shedding pilots. easyJet is CLOSING bases.
If I was an investor in AGS I would NOT be sinking money into SOU right now. I’d be preserving cash to support a smaller operation so I can survive. Then I would consider the extension during recovery. I’m sure SOU can find a way to downsize the operation so it’s more efficient and cheaper for existing operators. Loganair plan to retire their jets and replace with ATR’s so the argument that the runway ext is needed for them is false.
I’d much rather a quality 4 times daily KLM operation in 2021 rather than a single daily easyJet to AMS