Heathrow

[delilah]

Heathrow needs to be turned into a market garden.

With today's release of the latest IPCC report, and in the run-up to COP26, UK ag needs to put itself centre stage. The reason we are so often presented as being part of the problem rather than part of the solution, is that we are always reactive rather than proactive. Apologizing for cows, apologizing for emissions, it makes us an easy target and it has to stop. We need to be on the front foot, putting forward the argument for increased UK agricultural output as being crucial to addressing climate change.

London was ringed by market gardens. Taking the cities organic waste and using it to produce the cities veg. Those market gardens are now under houses and motorways. There is only one site that is big enough to feed the 9 million. It is already half way there; hangars for the mushrooms, hardstanding for the hydroponics, transport links to get the food into town. It's not as if we will need Heathrow in a green future.

All of the national representative bodies for UK ag need to issue a joint call for Heathrow to be transformed. Tens of thousands of sustainable jobs, with the levels of fossil fuel use reduction that we now know are needed.

 

[Cab-over Pete]

Will it need lime?

 

[B R C]

Can we do a trial with Luton airport first

 

[Ffermer Bach]

I believe the Scottish devolved government has an airport spare!

How the SNP sank tens of millions into an unwanted airport it is now struggling to sell​

Scottish ministers signed off bonuses to Glasgow Prestwick boss of almost £200,000 at airport they paid just £1 to save from collapse

ByOliver Gill, CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT and Ben Gartside7 August 2021 • 7:00pm

Nicola Sturgeon’s nationalisation of Glasgow Prestwick airport has been branded a “disaster from start to finish” after Scottish ministers signed off bonuses to executives of almost £200,000 – despite paying just £1 to save it from collapse.
More than £43m of UK taxpayer cash has been sunk into the airport since the Scottish government seized control eight years ago in the run-up to the independence referendum.
US taxpayers have paid a further £27m to refuel military aircraft at the airport over the past four-and-a-half years, according to analysis by The Telegraph of US Department of Defense filings.
Ms Sturgeon, then deputy first minister, spearheaded the nationalisation of the loss-making airport in November 2013. Emails published under Freedom of Information laws disclose that Glasgow Prestwick’s chief executive, chief commercial officer and chief financial officer, were handed bonuses totalling £187,016 under a sales agreement negotiated by Scottish ministers.
The airport’s former owner made a payment demand to Transport Scotland for the bonuses on Nov 29, 2013, days after the sale – for a nominal £1 – was completed.

Prestwick Airport has capacity for 2.5 million passengers annually CREDIT: Edward Allison / Alamy Stock Photo
Labour MSP Daniel Johnson said: “The SNP government’s stewardship of the Prestwick fiasco has been a disaster from start to finish. This is what happens when a government’s industrial strategy is decided by soundbites.”
A sale to a private bidder fell through last year. Scottish ministers announced another party had been lined up in February, but Scottish Conservatives claim that the process has now stalled.
Conservative MSP Graham Simpson said: “It is time for the SNP to shed light on the finances surrounding Prestwick airport and how it is being managed. SNP Ministers must explain who is causing these delays, the prospective buyer or the SNP Government itself?”
A spokesman for the Scottish government said: “Glasgow Prestwick airport is operated on a commercial basis and at arm’s length from the Scottish Government. Ministers do not intervene in the commercial discussions at the airport. The process to return Glasgow Prestwick Airport to the private sector continues and as previously stated, we have committed to updating Parliament on the sale process at the appropriate stage.”
Representatives from Glasgow Prestwick did not comment.

Loss of US cash hurts sale hopes​

Staff at the 24-hour McDonald’s in Ayr are used to military aircraft thundering over the Golden Arches in the middle of the night.
Known as “dark” services, the planes carry US armed forces on their way back from special operations in Afghanistan. Touching down at Glasgow Prestwick airport to refuel, the cold breeze that usually blows in from the Firth of Clyde is a welcome reminder that the soldiers are no longer in the middle of a combat zone.
Prestwick has become a key battleground for Scotland’s First Minister, however.
Famed for being the only part of British soil that Elvis Presley set foot on – he did so in March 1960 during his military service – Nicola Sturgeon, deputy to Alex Salmond at the time, bought Prestwick for a nominal £1 in November 2013.
Almost £45m has been sunk into the airport since – and Sturgeon has Donald Trump to thank for the losses not being more. Since 2017, the US Department of Defense has paid Prestwick £27m for fuel.

Almost £45m has been sunk into the airport since the Scottish government bought Prestwick for a nominal £1 in November 2013 CREDIT: Alister Firth / Alamy Stock Photo
Opposition leaders want answers. “It is time for the SNP to shed light on the finances surrounding Prestwick Airport and how it is being managed,” says Conservative MSP Graham Simpson.
Sturgeon had little difficulty persuading the airport’s owners, New Zealand-based investor Infratil, to part with the loss-making business. With the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum less than a year away, a failure of the business, and the prospect of 3,000 jobs being put at risk, would have been a political nightmare for the SNP. Likewise the airport’s bosses.
Despite its dire financial situation, the airport’s chief executive, and finance and commercial heads, were handed £187,000 in bonuses by the Scottish government in 2013, it can now be revealed.
“It’s a good decision and I’m glad we’ve reached this outcome,” said Sturgeon at the time. Glasgow City Council leader Gordon Matheson was sceptical. “I’m still unclear how the Scottish government can build a sound business case for Prestwick,” he said. The answer, in part at least, came from American taxpayers.
Refuelling US planes was worth less than $1m (£720,000) in 2017. Within 12 months this had risen to $8.7m, doubling to $17.3m in 2019. The airport’s location also suited Trump’s exploits outside of politics. Turnberry, the 115-year-old golf course that has hosted The Open on four occasions and that he bought in 2014, is just 10 miles away. “We are going to have planes coming in from New York and all over, high-level planes like Gulfstreams and Bombardiers,” Trump declared before taking office.

Nearby Turnberry golf course has helped bring in revenue for Prestwick airport CREDIT: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire
When the pandemic hit, the airport was back in the black. But roughly two-thirds of the airport’s annual revenue – £21m out of £36m – came from fuel in the year to March 2020.
Sturgeon budgeted to spend a maximum of £39.6m until 2022 – but this was blown by 2019. By the start of 2020, Scottish government loans had ballooned to more than £43m.
Meanwhile, with America withdrawing from Afghanistan, Prestwick’s lucrative US military contract is on the wane. Department of Defense filings show that fuel spend at the airport halved to $8.9m in 2020; and halfway through 2021, it has shrunk to $1.3m.
The SNP administration claimed it was on the cusp of selling Prestwick to an investment consortium behind Glasgow’s main airport. However, with the aviation sector in the in the grip of its worst-ever crisis, the deal fell through last year.
Another bidder was selected in February. Negotiations are said to have since stalled. The prospective saviour, believed to be the owners of Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport in Rome, have pledged to invest “tens of millions” into the airport and the local area. But in return they want the taxpayer loans written off and hefty grants, sources say. Simpson says: “We need further information about the airport sale negotiations, which appear to have stalled yet again.”

Nicola Sturgeon's SNP claims to be on the cusp of selling the airport CREDIT: Andy Buchanan/PA Wire
The Scottish government insists the sales process “continues”. A spokesman adds: “We have committed to updating Parliament on the sale process at the appropriate stage.”
Meanwhile, a fresh row erupted last weekend. Lawyers for ScottishPower claimed the state-owned airport was demanding millions of pounds from the energy firm in return for consenting to the building of a new wind farm nearby. Prestwick has received £8m over the last four years from renewable energy firms. “The fact that the airport may be heavily reliant on wind farm funds is very concerning,” says Simpson.
The future of Prestwick now hangs in the balance. If the latest deal falls through, ministers will be left holding an unsellable asset that costs taxpayers tens of millions of pounds – but one that it would be political suicide to let fail.
Glasgow Prestwick Airport did not respond to a request for comment.
The Scottish government says: “Glasgow Prestwick Airport is operated on a commercial basis and at arm’s length from the Scottish government. Ministers do not intervene in the commercial discussions at the airport.”
Daniel Johnson, Labour MSP is not convinced. “This is what happens when a government’s industrial strategy is decided by sound bites rather than sensible economic interventions on behalf of the workforce.”

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[roscoe erf]

I believe the Scottish devolved government has an airport spare!

How the SNP sank tens of millions into an unwanted airport it is now struggling to sell​

Scottish ministers signed off bonuses to Glasgow Prestwick boss of almost £200,000 at airport they paid just £1 to save from collapse

ByOliver Gill, CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT and Ben Gartside7 August 2021 • 7:00pm

Nicola Sturgeon’s nationalisation of Glasgow Prestwick airport has been branded a “disaster from start to finish” after Scottish ministers signed off bonuses to executives of almost £200,000 – despite paying just £1 to save it from collapse.
More than £43m of UK taxpayer cash has been sunk into the airport since the Scottish government seized control eight years ago in the run-up to the independence referendum.
US taxpayers have paid a further £27m to refuel military aircraft at the airport over the past four-and-a-half years, according to analysis by The Telegraph of US Department of Defense filings.
Ms Sturgeon, then deputy first minister, spearheaded the nationalisation of the loss-making airport in November 2013. Emails published under Freedom of Information laws disclose that Glasgow Prestwick’s chief executive, chief commercial officer and chief financial officer, were handed bonuses totalling £187,016 under a sales agreement negotiated by Scottish ministers.
The airport’s former owner made a payment demand to Transport Scotland for the bonuses on Nov 29, 2013, days after the sale – for a nominal £1 – was completed.

Prestwick Airport has capacity for 2.5 million passengers annually CREDIT: Edward Allison / Alamy Stock Photo
Labour MSP Daniel Johnson said: “The SNP government’s stewardship of the Prestwick fiasco has been a disaster from start to finish. This is what happens when a government’s industrial strategy is decided by soundbites.”
A sale to a private bidder fell through last year. Scottish ministers announced another party had been lined up in February, but Scottish Conservatives claim that the process has now stalled.
Conservative MSP Graham Simpson said: “It is time for the SNP to shed light on the finances surrounding Prestwick airport and how it is being managed. SNP Ministers must explain who is causing these delays, the prospective buyer or the SNP Government itself?”
A spokesman for the Scottish government said: “Glasgow Prestwick airport is operated on a commercial basis and at arm’s length from the Scottish Government. Ministers do not intervene in the commercial discussions at the airport. The process to return Glasgow Prestwick Airport to the private sector continues and as previously stated, we have committed to updating Parliament on the sale process at the appropriate stage.”
Representatives from Glasgow Prestwick did not comment.

Loss of US cash hurts sale hopes​

Staff at the 24-hour McDonald’s in Ayr are used to military aircraft thundering over the Golden Arches in the middle of the night.
Known as “dark” services, the planes carry US armed forces on their way back from special operations in Afghanistan. Touching down at Glasgow Prestwick airport to refuel, the cold breeze that usually blows in from the Firth of Clyde is a welcome reminder that the soldiers are no longer in the middle of a combat zone.
Prestwick has become a key battleground for Scotland’s First Minister, however.
Famed for being the only part of British soil that Elvis Presley set foot on – he did so in March 1960 during his military service – Nicola Sturgeon, deputy to Alex Salmond at the time, bought Prestwick for a nominal £1 in November 2013.
Almost £45m has been sunk into the airport since – and Sturgeon has Donald Trump to thank for the losses not being more. Since 2017, the US Department of Defense has paid Prestwick £27m for fuel.

Almost £45m has been sunk into the airport since the Scottish government bought Prestwick for a nominal £1 in November 2013 CREDIT: Alister Firth / Alamy Stock Photo
Opposition leaders want answers. “It is time for the SNP to shed light on the finances surrounding Prestwick Airport and how it is being managed,” says Conservative MSP Graham Simpson.
Sturgeon had little difficulty persuading the airport’s owners, New Zealand-based investor Infratil, to part with the loss-making business. With the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum less than a year away, a failure of the business, and the prospect of 3,000 jobs being put at risk, would have been a political nightmare for the SNP. Likewise the airport’s bosses.
Despite its dire financial situation, the airport’s chief executive, and finance and commercial heads, were handed £187,000 in bonuses by the Scottish government in 2013, it can now be revealed.
“It’s a good decision and I’m glad we’ve reached this outcome,” said Sturgeon at the time. Glasgow City Council leader Gordon Matheson was sceptical. “I’m still unclear how the Scottish government can build a sound business case for Prestwick,” he said. The answer, in part at least, came from American taxpayers.
Refuelling US planes was worth less than $1m (£720,000) in 2017. Within 12 months this had risen to $8.7m, doubling to $17.3m in 2019. The airport’s location also suited Trump’s exploits outside of politics. Turnberry, the 115-year-old golf course that has hosted The Open on four occasions and that he bought in 2014, is just 10 miles away. “We are going to have planes coming in from New York and all over, high-level planes like Gulfstreams and Bombardiers,” Trump declared before taking office.

Nearby Turnberry golf course has helped bring in revenue for Prestwick airport CREDIT: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire
When the pandemic hit, the airport was back in the black. But roughly two-thirds of the airport’s annual revenue – £21m out of £36m – came from fuel in the year to March 2020.
Sturgeon budgeted to spend a maximum of £39.6m until 2022 – but this was blown by 2019. By the start of 2020, Scottish government loans had ballooned to more than £43m.
Meanwhile, with America withdrawing from Afghanistan, Prestwick’s lucrative US military contract is on the wane. Department of Defense filings show that fuel spend at the airport halved to $8.9m in 2020; and halfway through 2021, it has shrunk to $1.3m.
The SNP administration claimed it was on the cusp of selling Prestwick to an investment consortium behind Glasgow’s main airport. However, with the aviation sector in the in the grip of its worst-ever crisis, the deal fell through last year.
Another bidder was selected in February. Negotiations are said to have since stalled. The prospective saviour, believed to be the owners of Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport in Rome, have pledged to invest “tens of millions” into the airport and the local area. But in return they want the taxpayer loans written off and hefty grants, sources say. Simpson says: “We need further information about the airport sale negotiations, which appear to have stalled yet again.”

Nicola Sturgeon's SNP claims to be on the cusp of selling the airport CREDIT: Andy Buchanan/PA Wire
The Scottish government insists the sales process “continues”. A spokesman adds: “We have committed to updating Parliament on the sale process at the appropriate stage.”
Meanwhile, a fresh row erupted last weekend. Lawyers for ScottishPower claimed the state-owned airport was demanding millions of pounds from the energy firm in return for consenting to the building of a new wind farm nearby. Prestwick has received £8m over the last four years from renewable energy firms. “The fact that the airport may be heavily reliant on wind farm funds is very concerning,” says Simpson.
The future of Prestwick now hangs in the balance. If the latest deal falls through, ministers will be left holding an unsellable asset that costs taxpayers tens of millions of pounds – but one that it would be political suicide to let fail.
Glasgow Prestwick Airport did not respond to a request for comment.
The Scottish government says: “Glasgow Prestwick Airport is operated on a commercial basis and at arm’s length from the Scottish government. Ministers do not intervene in the commercial discussions at the airport.”
Daniel Johnson, Labour MSP is not convinced. “This is what happens when a government’s industrial strategy is decided by sound bites rather than sensible economic interventions on behalf of the workforce.”

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haven't the welsh got a white elephant as well only saved by the senedd

 

[Ffermer Bach]

haven't the welsh got a white elephant as well only saved by the senedd

yes, but what more would one expect from Mark "Air Raid Warden Hodges (Dad's Army)" Drakeford!

 

[Al R]

haven't the welsh got a white elephant as well only saved by the senedd

There is a huge runway at a army base near me that has a few landings per year.
There was talks that when it closes it’ll be a prison

 

[roscoe erf]

There is a huge runway at a army base near me that has a few landings per year.
There was talks that when it closes it’ll be a prison

for ex ministers I hope

 

[Ffermer Bach]

I think one thing Covid has taught us is, that things that would have been totally unbelievable (like lockdowns, working from home, no gatherings etc) can happen. The great unpredictability that we seem to be experiencing with the weather, storms, droughts, I think will mean, if it gets worse, that changes will happen to our civilisation that are totally unexpected or left field. Reducing air travel could be one of them, and if it is, turning Heathrow into a market garden sounds a good idea to me. The one thing I am sure, business as usual is not an option.

 

[delilah]

Will it need lime?

3,000 acres of London clay, i'm sure it will need something but maybe not lime .

 

[Oliveau]

There is a huge runway at a army base near me that has a few landings per year.
There was talks that when it closes it’ll be a prison

Lynham had [has] 2 runways, so the Govt/MOD moved everything from Lyneham to Brize Norton, which only has one runway. Then the one runway needed urgent repairs, which were cocked up, so bigger aircraft can't use it and have to go to Birmingham or Stansted civilian air ports. Is it me............ ?

 

[Barleycorn]

 

[JP1]

Heathrow needs to be turned into a market garden.

With today's release of the latest IPCC report, and in the run-up to COP26, UK ag needs to put itself centre stage. The reason we are so often presented as being part of the problem rather than part of the solution, is that we are always reactive rather than proactive. Apologizing for cows, apologizing for emissions, it makes us an easy target and it has to stop. We need to be on the front foot, putting forward the argument for increased UK agricultural output as being crucial to addressing climate change.

London was ringed by market gardens. Taking the cities organic waste and using it to produce the cities veg. Those market gardens are now under houses and motorways. There is only one site that is big enough to feed the 9 million. It is already half way there; hangars for the mushrooms, hardstanding for the hydroponics, transport links to get the food into town. It's not as if we will need Heathrow in a green future.

All of the national representative bodies for UK ag need to issue a joint call for Heathrow to be transformed. Tens of thousands of sustainable jobs, with the levels of fossil fuel use reduction that we now know are needed.

There’s still just a few around the North Circular near Denham and glasshouses mostly run by Italian families in the Lea Valley but I take your point

Hence my objection to any land based industry selling carbon credits to the airline and other industrials

 

[X344chap]

I believe the Scottish devolved government has an airport spare!

How the SNP sank tens of millions into an unwanted airport it is now struggling to sell​

Scottish ministers signed off bonuses to Glasgow Prestwick boss of almost £200,000 at airport they paid just £1 to save from collapse

ByOliver Gill, CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT and Ben Gartside7 August 2021 • 7:00pm

Nicola Sturgeon’s nationalisation of Glasgow Prestwick airport has been branded a “disaster from start to finish” after Scottish ministers signed off bonuses to executives of almost £200,000 – despite paying just £1 to save it from collapse.
More than £43m of UK taxpayer cash has been sunk into the airport since the Scottish government seized control eight years ago in the run-up to the independence referendum.
US taxpayers have paid a further £27m to refuel military aircraft at the airport over the past four-and-a-half years, according to analysis by The Telegraph of US Department of Defense filings.
Ms Sturgeon, then deputy first minister, spearheaded the nationalisation of the loss-making airport in November 2013. Emails published under Freedom of Information laws disclose that Glasgow Prestwick’s chief executive, chief commercial officer and chief financial officer, were handed bonuses totalling £187,016 under a sales agreement negotiated by Scottish ministers.
The airport’s former owner made a payment demand to Transport Scotland for the bonuses on Nov 29, 2013, days after the sale – for a nominal £1 – was completed.

Prestwick Airport has capacity for 2.5 million passengers annually CREDIT: Edward Allison / Alamy Stock Photo
Labour MSP Daniel Johnson said: “The SNP government’s stewardship of the Prestwick fiasco has been a disaster from start to finish. This is what happens when a government’s industrial strategy is decided by soundbites.”
A sale to a private bidder fell through last year. Scottish ministers announced another party had been lined up in February, but Scottish Conservatives claim that the process has now stalled.
Conservative MSP Graham Simpson said: “It is time for the SNP to shed light on the finances surrounding Prestwick airport and how it is being managed. SNP Ministers must explain who is causing these delays, the prospective buyer or the SNP Government itself?”
A spokesman for the Scottish government said: “Glasgow Prestwick airport is operated on a commercial basis and at arm’s length from the Scottish Government. Ministers do not intervene in the commercial discussions at the airport. The process to return Glasgow Prestwick Airport to the private sector continues and as previously stated, we have committed to updating Parliament on the sale process at the appropriate stage.”
Representatives from Glasgow Prestwick did not comment.

Loss of US cash hurts sale hopes​

Staff at the 24-hour McDonald’s in Ayr are used to military aircraft thundering over the Golden Arches in the middle of the night.
Known as “dark” services, the planes carry US armed forces on their way back from special operations in Afghanistan. Touching down at Glasgow Prestwick airport to refuel, the cold breeze that usually blows in from the Firth of Clyde is a welcome reminder that the soldiers are no longer in the middle of a combat zone.
Prestwick has become a key battleground for Scotland’s First Minister, however.
Famed for being the only part of British soil that Elvis Presley set foot on – he did so in March 1960 during his military service – Nicola Sturgeon, deputy to Alex Salmond at the time, bought Prestwick for a nominal £1 in November 2013.
Almost £45m has been sunk into the airport since – and Sturgeon has Donald Trump to thank for the losses not being more. Since 2017, the US Department of Defense has paid Prestwick £27m for fuel.

Almost £45m has been sunk into the airport since the Scottish government bought Prestwick for a nominal £1 in November 2013 CREDIT: Alister Firth / Alamy Stock Photo
Opposition leaders want answers. “It is time for the SNP to shed light on the finances surrounding Prestwick Airport and how it is being managed,” says Conservative MSP Graham Simpson.
Sturgeon had little difficulty persuading the airport’s owners, New Zealand-based investor Infratil, to part with the loss-making business. With the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum less than a year away, a failure of the business, and the prospect of 3,000 jobs being put at risk, would have been a political nightmare for the SNP. Likewise the airport’s bosses.
Despite its dire financial situation, the airport’s chief executive, and finance and commercial heads, were handed £187,000 in bonuses by the Scottish government in 2013, it can now be revealed.
“It’s a good decision and I’m glad we’ve reached this outcome,” said Sturgeon at the time. Glasgow City Council leader Gordon Matheson was sceptical. “I’m still unclear how the Scottish government can build a sound business case for Prestwick,” he said. The answer, in part at least, came from American taxpayers.
Refuelling US planes was worth less than $1m (£720,000) in 2017. Within 12 months this had risen to $8.7m, doubling to $17.3m in 2019. The airport’s location also suited Trump’s exploits outside of politics. Turnberry, the 115-year-old golf course that has hosted The Open on four occasions and that he bought in 2014, is just 10 miles away. “We are going to have planes coming in from New York and all over, high-level planes like Gulfstreams and Bombardiers,” Trump declared before taking office.

Nearby Turnberry golf course has helped bring in revenue for Prestwick airport CREDIT: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire
When the pandemic hit, the airport was back in the black. But roughly two-thirds of the airport’s annual revenue – £21m out of £36m – came from fuel in the year to March 2020.
Sturgeon budgeted to spend a maximum of £39.6m until 2022 – but this was blown by 2019. By the start of 2020, Scottish government loans had ballooned to more than £43m.
Meanwhile, with America withdrawing from Afghanistan, Prestwick’s lucrative US military contract is on the wane. Department of Defense filings show that fuel spend at the airport halved to $8.9m in 2020; and halfway through 2021, it has shrunk to $1.3m.
The SNP administration claimed it was on the cusp of selling Prestwick to an investment consortium behind Glasgow’s main airport. However, with the aviation sector in the in the grip of its worst-ever crisis, the deal fell through last year.
Another bidder was selected in February. Negotiations are said to have since stalled. The prospective saviour, believed to be the owners of Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport in Rome, have pledged to invest “tens of millions” into the airport and the local area. But in return they want the taxpayer loans written off and hefty grants, sources say. Simpson says: “We need further information about the airport sale negotiations, which appear to have stalled yet again.”

Nicola Sturgeon's SNP claims to be on the cusp of selling the airport CREDIT: Andy Buchanan/PA Wire
The Scottish government insists the sales process “continues”. A spokesman adds: “We have committed to updating Parliament on the sale process at the appropriate stage.”
Meanwhile, a fresh row erupted last weekend. Lawyers for ScottishPower claimed the state-owned airport was demanding millions of pounds from the energy firm in return for consenting to the building of a new wind farm nearby. Prestwick has received £8m over the last four years from renewable energy firms. “The fact that the airport may be heavily reliant on wind farm funds is very concerning,” says Simpson.
The future of Prestwick now hangs in the balance. If the latest deal falls through, ministers will be left holding an unsellable asset that costs taxpayers tens of millions of pounds – but one that it would be political suicide to let fail.
Glasgow Prestwick Airport did not respond to a request for comment.
The Scottish government says: “Glasgow Prestwick Airport is operated on a commercial basis and at arm’s length from the Scottish government. Ministers do not intervene in the commercial discussions at the airport.”
Daniel Johnson, Labour MSP is not convinced. “This is what happens when a government’s industrial strategy is decided by sound bites rather than sensible economic interventions on behalf of the workforce.”

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A twisted and skewed article by the Torygraph complete with negative pictures of the first minister - what do you expect? I'll take 880 acres of development land for £1 please.

Edit - oh - and a quick peek at companies house showed that the airport made a small profit of £500k in its last accounts to 31st March 2020.

 

[steveR]

Lynham had [has] 2 runways, so the Govt/MOD moved everything from Lyneham to Brize Norton, which only has one runway. Then the one runway needed urgent repairs, which were cocked up, so bigger aircraft can't use it and have to go to Birmingham or Stansted civilian air ports. Is it me............ ?

MOD... Business as usual! How much money can be wasted....

 

[Bury the Trash]

3,000 acres of London clay, i'm sure it will need something but maybe not lime .

and if sea level rises like they say its going to it will need more than the barrier to stop it all flooding.
will be a few million people displaced as well,then they wont then be worrying about airports ,unless they got enough money to emmigrate to the foothills of spain, will have to go by boat instead i suppose.

 

[delilah]

Fascinating film, thanks for posting, shows how Heathrow was a response to the needs of the day. Those needs have changed, will we similarly change our response ?

 

[delilah]

Huge opportunity for UK ag today. 12 hours solid media coverage of how we are impacting the environment. Open goal for us to promote eating British as a practical way for everyone to do their bit.
Anyone heard anything from our lot ?
I've just checked fb:
NFU, NSA, NBA: No posts today.
NFU education page: Last post 12 March.
AHDB 'we eat balanced' public awareness page: Last post 22 June.
Soil Association: At least they are all over it, but instead of going with 'eat local' they have stuck the boot into 'intensive'.

I can't be bothered with angry, will just go with sad at how useless we are.

 

[Highland Mule]

Fascinating film, thanks for posting, shows how Heathrow was a response to the needs of the day. Those needs have changed, will we similarly change our response ?

Yes, they are trying to build a third runway. Like it or lump it, the world has a need for connectivity and travel.

 

[delilah]

Yes, they are trying to build a third runway. Like it or lump it, the world has a need for connectivity and travel.

There's an acid test that we should all apply to our decision making: This thing I am about to do, what would happen if everyone did it ?
Can the natural environment stand 9 billion, or whatever it is, jet setting here there and everywhere ? Because I don't think that it can.