Trump firm invited to help bail out ailing Prestwick hub
● Scottish Government-owned airport enlisted US president’s company in ‘working party’ to drum up new business
Officials at Glasgow Prestwick Airport tried to get Donald Trump’s Scottish business to lobby for a new route to help bail out the cash-strapped transport hub.
Trump Turnberry staff were invited to join a working party charged with visiting Denmark to pitch for new business.
A meeting was held in Copenhagen in July in a bid to convince an airline to commit to the struggling South Ayrshire facility.
The Scottish Government knew of the partnership. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has been an outspoken critic of the US president.
Donald Trump’s flagship Scottish business was invited by Glasgow Prestwick Airport to lobby a prospective airline amid attempts to return to profit.
Prestwick officials formed a “working party” that included Trump Turnberry and was tasked with visiting Scandinavia to bring in new business to the loss-making South Ayrshire hub.
Representatives from the golf course and hotel resort, which remains under the US president’s ultimate ownership, were asked to travel with airport and local authority staff to Denmark to “pitch” to the airline earlier this year. The Scottish Government was made aware of the collaboration.
The disclosure has sparked renewed criticism of the government amid claims of hypocrisy surrounding Prestwick’s business relationship with Mr Trump.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has been an avowed critic of the 71-year-old and his politics, stripping him of his Global Scot ambassador status following Mr Trump’s controversial remarks about Muslims. As recently as August, she described the prospect of him coming to Britain on an official state visit as “unthinkable”. Officials at Prestwick have meanwhile sought out the help of Mr Trump’s most prestigious golf resort.
Patrick Harvie, co-convener of the Scottish Greens, said the billionaire’s “toxic brand” was doing “real damage” to Scotland’s reputation. He said the revelation proved the existing set-up, which has Prestwick operating at arms length from the government, was not working.
Details emerged amid reports ministers were preparing to sell the beleaguered airport, which is running at an operating loss of £8.7 million a year. The amount of taxpayers’ money shoring up the hub increased by £9.6m last year to £30.9m.
Attracting new airlines is seen as a crucial step to securing a sustainable future for Prestwick and ultimately, enticing a buyer from the private sector. The airport counts Ryanair as its sole scheduled services operator.
Representatives from Prestwick met in April with a prospective new airline at Routes Europe, an aviation industry event held in Belfast. The company, whose identity has not been disclosed, informed Prestwick it had a spare aircraft that could be put to use on a new route.
Directors at Prestwick Aviation Holdings Limited, the airport’s holding company, discussed in June how Prestwick had “formed a working party” that included Trump Turnberry and South Ayrshire Council.
Referring to the airline as X, an extract from the meeting passed to The Scotsman by a source familiar with Prestwick’s operations has detailed how the airport arranged a visit “where each stakeholder will pitch to X to support this new route. We believe this will give X the confidence required to launch direct services”.
The meeting with the airline took place in Copenhagen in July. However, Trump Turnberry said it did not attend the formal pitch and received no payment for its work. The only new route secured by Prestwick in the past year has been Ryanair’s reinstated service to the Polish city of Rzeszow.
The source said: “There has been tentative interest in new routes at Prestwick in recent years, but it has been an uphill battle to compete. There were talks with Flybe, but the business case was not strong enough.”
Mr Harvie said: “Given Mr Trump’s appalling behaviour, he was rightly stripped of his Global Scot ambassador status and Scottish ministers have been at pains to distance themselves from a bigoted bully they previously cosied up to.
“It’s disappointing that his business is influencing a government-owned asset.”
Since it was taken over by the government for £1 in November 2013, Prestwick’s executives have struggled to formulate a strategy to get out of the red.
The hub’s passenger total in the 12 months to September was 671,860, a fraction of its 2007/08 peak of 2.78 million.
The airport’s senior executive team has been subject to major upheaval. Ron Smith, the chief executive officer, left last month after 15 months in charge. Business development officer Mike Stewart quit soon afterwards.
In the airport’s most recent annual accounts, Mr Smith wrote that a range of bodies, including Transport Scotland, Visitscotland and local authorities,hadbeeninvolved in developing “an attractive route development package”. There was no mention of Trump Turnberry, the Trump Organisation or its Scottish subsidiaries. It is not the first time Mr Trump and his companies have expressed a keen interest in Prestwick’s passenger services since he bought Turnberry in April 2014.
Seven months after the acquisition, which has yet to turn a profit for Mr Trump, he spoke out after Ryanair transferred several routes to Glasgow Airport.
Last night, Trump Turnberry explained it “works closely” with stakeholders such as Prestwick to bolster tourism in Ayrshire.
A spokeswoman added: “For a recent pitch, Turnberry provided information on the golfing and accommodation opportunities available within the resort to the Prestwick team to help position Ayrshire as an attractive golfing destination.”
An airport spokesman said the hub worked closely with various organisations to “share knowledge” to grow tourism in Ayrshire.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “In compliance with European Union state aid rules, Prestwick is being operated on a commercial basis and at arm’s length from the government.”
“Given Mr Trump’s appalling behaviour ... it’s disappointing that his business is influencing a government-owned asset”