The Guvnor
22nd Apr 2001, 14:40
From today's Sunday Times
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">Scots airports lose out on direct
foreign flights
Kathleen Manson and Lucy Adams
Britain's airports: Number of overseas routes
SCOTLAND'S airports are among the worst served in the UK for
direct overseas flights. Despite being Scotland's capital city,
Edinburgh ranks below Norwich when it comes to direct air
services.
Airports north of the border have fewer direct flights than many
smaller English regions, forcing travellers to make expensive
detours. Senior politicians and tourist industry leaders said
Scotland's lack of direct links to Europe and America was
hampering efforts to attract more visitors..
London Gatwick is top of The Sunday Times league of 21 UK
airports, with 168 international direct scheduled flights every
day. Heathrow is a close second with 144.
Scotland's capital Edinburgh is placed 14th with just seven
direct international flights, placing it behind Norwich, East
Midlands and Liverpool. Scotland's highest placed airport,
Glasgow, is in ninth position, with just 12 direct flights per day
to Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris.
Aberdeen, Scotland's third largest city, lags behind Bristol and
Southampton with just four direct international flights. BAA
Scotland, which operates Glasgow, Edinburgh, Inverness and
Aberdeen airports, has recently appointed David Field, the man
behind the rapid growth of London's Stansted airport, as
business development. He is hoping to persuade international
airlines to fly more direct routes to and from Scotland by
highlighting the rapid growth of Edinburgh as an international
finance centre.
Airport chiefs are encouraged by the recent announcements of
new direct routes to and from Brussels on British Midland and
to Amsterdam from Glasgow and Edinburgh on EasyJet. The
Edinburgh-Amsterdam route has been a major success, raising
hopes that the low-cost airline may consider more routes from
Scotland. An Edinburgh-Barcelona flight has been discussed.
Executives from American airline Continental, which already
flies to New York from Glasgow, recently met Henry McLeish,
the first minister, and business leaders from Edinburgh to
discuss plans for a direct transatlantic route from Scotland's
capital.
Continental's Glasgow route is successful, but the airline has
sought reassurance that the capital's business community will
support a new service from Edinburgh. Industry insiders say
while many Edinburgh business figures say they would support
the service, many remain committed to flying via Heathrow on
British Airways to maximise their air miles.
Bill Furness, head of the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, told
a recent meeting with MSPs at the Scottish parliament that he
would look at ways to encourage business travellers to adopt a
"fly from Edinburgh first" policy.
The development of international air links, especially
transatlantic routes, depends on the number of high-fare
business class seats airlines believe they can sell at the "front
end". Low cost operators like Go, EasyJet and Buzz often
study the success of existing charter holiday services before
flying new routes.
Scottish airport chiefs say the lower number of flights reflects
Scotland's smaller population, but that they are are encouraging
more airlines to fly direct international routes from Scotland.
However, tourism chiefs and opposition politicians claim the low
number of direct flights reflects the government's failure to
encourage more airlines into Scotland.
The Scottish population is 5.5m, almost half that of London.
Dublin, serving the Republic of Ireland whose population is
3.6m, has 76 direct international flights.
The Dublin-London route is the busiest in Europe and carries
4m passengers every year. Incentives offered to airlines to use
the airport include reduced charges for the first three years of
new routes.
While European law prevents governments offering subsidies to
airlines, tourism chiefs say ministers could still offer marketing
incentives and support airlines which open up new routes.
"If Ireland can do it, so can we," said Kenny MacAskill,
enterprise spokesman for the SNP. "We both have similar
population figures so that is not an argument. We have to give
airlines a reason to come into Scotland. "
Ivan Broussine, the chief executive of the Scottish Tourism
Forum, said more government action was needed to open up
new routes from Scottish airports. "The current situation is
unsatisfactory," he said. "We need to break out of this cycle
and demonstrate to airlines that the market does exist here."
A spokeswoman for Scottish Airports said: "Scotland only has
5.5m people so it is difficult to compare Scottish airports to
places like Birmingham which have a catchment area of about
20 million people."
Britain's airports: Number of overseas routes
1 Heathrow 144
2 Gatwick 168
3 Stansted 101
4 Manchester 68
5 Birmingham 44
6 London City 19
7 Luton 17
8 Newcastle 16
9 Glasgow 12
10 Norwich 11
11 Liverpool 9
12 East Midlands 9
13 Edinburgh 7
14 Bristol 6
15 Southampton 5
16 Aberdeen 4
17 Leeds/Bradford 4
18 Cardiff 3</font>
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">Scots airports lose out on direct
foreign flights
Kathleen Manson and Lucy Adams
Britain's airports: Number of overseas routes
SCOTLAND'S airports are among the worst served in the UK for
direct overseas flights. Despite being Scotland's capital city,
Edinburgh ranks below Norwich when it comes to direct air
services.
Airports north of the border have fewer direct flights than many
smaller English regions, forcing travellers to make expensive
detours. Senior politicians and tourist industry leaders said
Scotland's lack of direct links to Europe and America was
hampering efforts to attract more visitors..
London Gatwick is top of The Sunday Times league of 21 UK
airports, with 168 international direct scheduled flights every
day. Heathrow is a close second with 144.
Scotland's capital Edinburgh is placed 14th with just seven
direct international flights, placing it behind Norwich, East
Midlands and Liverpool. Scotland's highest placed airport,
Glasgow, is in ninth position, with just 12 direct flights per day
to Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris.
Aberdeen, Scotland's third largest city, lags behind Bristol and
Southampton with just four direct international flights. BAA
Scotland, which operates Glasgow, Edinburgh, Inverness and
Aberdeen airports, has recently appointed David Field, the man
behind the rapid growth of London's Stansted airport, as
business development. He is hoping to persuade international
airlines to fly more direct routes to and from Scotland by
highlighting the rapid growth of Edinburgh as an international
finance centre.
Airport chiefs are encouraged by the recent announcements of
new direct routes to and from Brussels on British Midland and
to Amsterdam from Glasgow and Edinburgh on EasyJet. The
Edinburgh-Amsterdam route has been a major success, raising
hopes that the low-cost airline may consider more routes from
Scotland. An Edinburgh-Barcelona flight has been discussed.
Executives from American airline Continental, which already
flies to New York from Glasgow, recently met Henry McLeish,
the first minister, and business leaders from Edinburgh to
discuss plans for a direct transatlantic route from Scotland's
capital.
Continental's Glasgow route is successful, but the airline has
sought reassurance that the capital's business community will
support a new service from Edinburgh. Industry insiders say
while many Edinburgh business figures say they would support
the service, many remain committed to flying via Heathrow on
British Airways to maximise their air miles.
Bill Furness, head of the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, told
a recent meeting with MSPs at the Scottish parliament that he
would look at ways to encourage business travellers to adopt a
"fly from Edinburgh first" policy.
The development of international air links, especially
transatlantic routes, depends on the number of high-fare
business class seats airlines believe they can sell at the "front
end". Low cost operators like Go, EasyJet and Buzz often
study the success of existing charter holiday services before
flying new routes.
Scottish airport chiefs say the lower number of flights reflects
Scotland's smaller population, but that they are are encouraging
more airlines to fly direct international routes from Scotland.
However, tourism chiefs and opposition politicians claim the low
number of direct flights reflects the government's failure to
encourage more airlines into Scotland.
The Scottish population is 5.5m, almost half that of London.
Dublin, serving the Republic of Ireland whose population is
3.6m, has 76 direct international flights.
The Dublin-London route is the busiest in Europe and carries
4m passengers every year. Incentives offered to airlines to use
the airport include reduced charges for the first three years of
new routes.
While European law prevents governments offering subsidies to
airlines, tourism chiefs say ministers could still offer marketing
incentives and support airlines which open up new routes.
"If Ireland can do it, so can we," said Kenny MacAskill,
enterprise spokesman for the SNP. "We both have similar
population figures so that is not an argument. We have to give
airlines a reason to come into Scotland. "
Ivan Broussine, the chief executive of the Scottish Tourism
Forum, said more government action was needed to open up
new routes from Scottish airports. "The current situation is
unsatisfactory," he said. "We need to break out of this cycle
and demonstrate to airlines that the market does exist here."
A spokeswoman for Scottish Airports said: "Scotland only has
5.5m people so it is difficult to compare Scottish airports to
places like Birmingham which have a catchment area of about
20 million people."
Britain's airports: Number of overseas routes
1 Heathrow 144
2 Gatwick 168
3 Stansted 101
4 Manchester 68
5 Birmingham 44
6 London City 19
7 Luton 17
8 Newcastle 16
9 Glasgow 12
10 Norwich 11
11 Liverpool 9
12 East Midlands 9
13 Edinburgh 7
14 Bristol 6
15 Southampton 5
16 Aberdeen 4
17 Leeds/Bradford 4
18 Cardiff 3</font>