Prestwick-3

[Lomon]

Originally Posted by Skipness One Foxtrot

Without the income from the many, many USAF / ANG transit stops, there's no likely sale and we might end up with nice new housing and no airport. And Greer and Harvie would be most pleased, so given their anti-Trump rhetoric, why stop at the Israelis? They're rabidly anti US foreign policy too.

What would happen to GE or Spirit? Don't both companies rely on the runway to get engines in and out or to despatch the aircraft parts they make.

[PIKAviationTours]

There's a 99 year lease on the runways which was agreed between Scottish Aviation (now British Aerospace) and the then Ministry of Aviation in 1953 which ensures that the runways are kept should the tenants want them until at least 2052. This was the lease that prevented BAA closing the airfield in 1992. BAe are still on site albeit Spirit are the main landowners. I'm not sure of the exact ownership / lease details these days as a FOI came to nowt. The only area that would potentially go to the property developers would be the 1964 terminal should pax operations cease. With both Storm and PAM / Ryanair planning new hangars to accommodate future growth and with both these companies plus others needing the runways, the chances of the whole site being given over to property seems far fetched at this point in time. Also, the RCAF have a contract for their base until 2028 albeit contracts can be changed.

[Wardair]

Originally Posted by PIKAviationTours

PIK is technically free from 'political control' but as it owned by the Scottish Government, any political element opposed to the Scottish Government (basically Labour and the Tories whose Scottish arms are run from London) will jump on any opportunity to blacken Prestwick's name. The levels of hypocrisy especially from the other Ross and his cronies is really quite remarkable. The business lost by losing the IDF is really only a few transatlantic fuel stops a year and pales into insignificance compared the number of stop overs from the Arab air forces of Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE. If you add in the USAF, RCAF and increasing Turkish AF business then from a business perspective its a very small loss albeit a loss all the same. It will be interesting to see where the IDF now stop over to and from the US.

Labour and Tories Scottish arms? Perhaps best for a business not to show any political bitterness. Makes you think about booking a tour

[Skipness One Foxtrot]

Originally Posted by PIKAviationTours

There's a 99 year lease on the runways which was agreed between Scottish Aviation (now British Aerospace) and the then Ministry of Aviation in 1953 which ensures that the runways are kept should the tenants want them until at least 2052.

BAA sold the land for runway 21/03 to their Lynton Properties subsidiary and closed it back in the late 80s. I can't remember if it was Freeport related but bottom line is one runway was removed before the arrival of the BAe Flying College meant around 1/3 of it was re-opened? Or maybe only 2/3s was sold? But the land was left to rot for years before PIK Ltd rebuilt the full length. Losing the cross runway meant winter ops became tricky when the wind blew and diverts out became common.
Any new owned could see the land as having more non aviation potential, hopefully a new owner understands that the business thrives because of the size and diversity of the whole airfield.

[PIKAviationTours]

Basically BAA appears to have broken the terms of the original 1953 lease by selling a section of 21/03 off to their property arm. Luckily Mathew Hudson and Alan Macdonald (Bae) got together and uncovered the original lease and with Bae needing the secondary runway for the Flying College and for Jetstream development and demos, the two of them together, forced BAA's arm and they reluctantly sold to Mathew Hudson, thus reinstating 21/03's full length.

[QEC]

Originally Posted by PIKAviationTours

Basically BAA appears to have broken the terms of the original 1953 lease by selling a section of 21/03 off to their property arm. Luckily Mathew Hudson and Alan Macdonald (Bae) got together and uncovered the original lease and with Bae needing the secondary runway for the Flying College and for Jetstream development and demos, the two of them together, forced BAA's arm and they reluctantly sold to Mathew Hudson, thus reinstating 21/03's full length.

And when x-wind limits/maintainance preclude the use of 12/30 then we've had An124/747-8/747-400/C17/C130/767/737 etc etc use 21/03 in recent times, who in their right mind would sell it off for housing or commercial use?

[SWBKCB]

Originally Posted by QEC

And when x-wind limits/maintainance preclude the use of 12/30 then we've had An124/747-8/747-400/C17/C130/767/737 etc etc use 21/03 in recent times, who in their right mind would sell it off for housing or commercial use?

How much income do those flights generate, as opposed to what could be made from rent/leases?

[Skipness One Foxtrot]

Originally Posted by SWBKCB

How much income do those flights generate, as opposed to what could be made from rent/leases?

Depends if a competitor with an into wind runway takes your existing operator all year round because PIK becomes unreliable. So quite an impact potentially.

[GeorgeNTravels]

Ryanair appears to have removed the planned 3rd weekly Lanzarote flight as well as reducing Faro from 5 to 4 weekly.