Scottish Airports PLC had many faults but they were able to have a lowlands airport
strategy, albeit one that many locals rightly disagreed with. One airport was favoured to be the gateway, GLA was built out and PIK was expected to be run down and closed, leaving GLA as Scotland's holiday and long haul hub and EDI to deal with local domestic and European traffic. Revenue from all four airports, including ABZ went through the parent entity and eventually to BAA in London. That allowed spending decisions to be made strategically rather than each airport standing alone, remember STN was built off the back off LHR and LGW profits! Long term decision making was a thing, if not always right.... GLA would never have had the West pier built on it's own merits, there was a group direction. Look at Spain with
AENA, not perfect by a long way, but they have some half decent infrastructure.
There's no medium term scope for any similar strategy, if you see GLA/EDI/PIK as competing rather than complementing then you end up where we are today, and frankly we're stuck with it. I imagine the cost of demolishing the 1964 terminal at PIK would be prohibitive, there's got to be aload of asbestos in there somewhere. So as in many businesses, just like EDI, they kick the can, pay some dividends and spaff some
PR. It is what it is.