Glasgow deal paves the way for long-haul flights to China
GLASGOW Airport has moved a step closer to securing a long-haul flight route to China.
The airport has signed a partnership agreement with Shanghai Airport and will now begin lobbying China’s main airlines to establish a direct air link between the two cities.
Glasgow Airport and Shanghai Airport Authority, which operates the city’s Pudong and Hongqiao airports, have formed the Shanghai Airport Authority and Glasgow Airport Alliance with the goal of jointly developing a strategy to increase the number of passengers travelling between China and Scotland.
The partnership will see the airports work together to share expertise and best practice in all aspects of airport business and exchange ideas to help promote tourism opportunities between the two cities while creating an attractive environment for future direct air links.
The decision to form the alliance is as a result of months of discussions involving Shanghai Airport Authority’s president and senior executives and representatives from Glasgow Airport.
Commercial director Francois Bourienne, who signed the Memorandum of Understanding on behalf of Glasgow Airport, said: “It is a tremendous honour to be in Shanghai today to sign this partnership agreement. It marks a significant milestone in the relationship between the cities of Glasgow and Shanghai.
“This Memorandum of Understanding provides us with a unique opportunity to work alongside and share ideas with our new colleagues from Shanghai Airport Authority, which is responsible for operating the Chinese mega-city’s t wo main airports, handling in excess of 100 million passengers combined annually.
“The alliance will work together to further enhance the growing business and tourism links between Scotland and China.”
Mr Ruijun Jia, vice-president of Shanghai Airport Authority, said: “Shanghai Airport Authority is delighted to enter into this long-term partnership.
“Our aim is to work collaboratively with the management of Glasgow Airport to exchange best practices in airport operations and to jointly implement initiatives to grow visitor numbers between Glasgow, Scotland and Shanghai.”
Stuart Patrick, chief executive of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, said: “This is a fantastic coup for Glasgow Airport.”