Plan to privatise Prestwick Airport

Management at Prestwick Airport plan to return it to private ownership within the next five years, a report has revealed.

The Scottish Government stepped in to save the South Ayrshire airport from closure in 2013, buying it for £1.

Initial estimates proposed £21.3 million of loans would be needed to keep the airport, officially known as Glasgow Prestwick Airport, going.

The figure rose to £39.6m in a revised business plan published the following year.

The executive team has published its five-year strategic plan to 2022, stating it believes passenger numbers have “bottomed out” and are now rising, and losses are less severe than predicted.

The document was drawn up following the appointment of Ron Smith as chief executive officer in May 2016 and states the aim in the next five years is to “return the business to private ownership with a sustainable future as an airport”.

Mr Smith said: “The picture for Glasgow Prestwick Airport is a positive one – we believe our passenger numbers have bottomed out and are on the up again, cargo income is consistent in spite of changes in the wider market, military income is growing, property occupancy are at an all-time high and early indications for the last financial year show that our losses are less than predicted.

“The turnaround will be challenging and will take time, but it has started and this plan will build upon this.”