SKY HIGH Airport public cash bill could top £ 40m
Prestwick Airport is costing taxpayers more than £ 600,000 a month.
More than £ 17million has been loaned to Ayrshire’s airport since it was bought by the Scottish Government for £ 1 in 2013.
And watchdogs warn the final bill could exceed £ 40m, with no profits expected for another seven years.
But the new team in charge of the airport are confident they can turn things around after appointing new executives to try and change fortunes.
A spokeswoman said: “Glasgow Prestwick Airport completed its new executive team just over a month ago with the recruitment of a permanent chief executive officer, Ron Smith. “Ron will be leading the team in taking a very proactive approach to business development across all areas — including passenger, cargo, military, executive and general aviation as well as commercial property, development and spaceport opportunities. “This business development will look to grow relationships with existing customers but fundamental to future success will be bringing in new customers. “The team is confident that it will return the airport to profitability and longterm sustainability through developing a balanced business that is able to adapt to changing market conditions.” Fi g u re s f rom Transport Scotland show that between February 2014 and March this year, the airport was loaned £ 16.8m.
Repayments on those loans are not scheduled to start until the airport turns a profit, which experts believe will be in 2023, a decade after it was purchased by the government.
And the airport, which is understood to have lost nearly two million passengers in seven years, was dealt a further blow last week when Ryanair said it would “pivot growth away from UK airports” following the vote to leave the EU.
The airline confirmed Prestwick would be included in their new strategy but said it was “too early to determine” how it would be affected.
A Sc o t t i s h Government spokeswoman said: “The closure of Glasgow Prestwick would have been a devastating blow to Ayrshire.
“We safeguarded around 1400 jobs and secured an asset that contributes more than £ 61m to the Scottish economy every year.