Investigation: How the US military is using Prestwick Airport ‘for free’
● Calls for Scottish Government-owned hub to suspend ties with US military amid claims taxpayers picking up ‘service fees’
Glasgow Prestwick Airport is waiving service fees for inbound US military aircraft as part of an alleged practice designed to increase traffic at the beleaguered airport and safeguard its lucrative commercial relationship with the US Defence Department, multiple sources familiar with its operations have told The Scotsman.
The heavily-indebted airport, at the centre of a US Congressional investigation over the US military’s financial ties with Prestwick and US president Donald Trump’s nearby Turnberry resort, is alleged to have waived the so-called service fees for several hundred flights by branches of the US Armed Forces.
Sources with direct knowledge of US military business at Prestwick said the cost to the airport and, as a result, Scottish taxpayers, runs into seven figures.
The airport, a publiclyowned asset operated on a fully commercial basis, has repeatedly declined to answer a series of questions put to it by The Scotsman regarding the allegations it is waiving the service fees.
But Patrick Harvie MSP, coleader of the Scottish Greens called on the airport’s relationship with the US military to be “suspended at once”.
He said: “In light of these staggering allegations that the Scottish Government-owned airport is giving freebies to the US military, ministers must urgently explain how on earth they have allowed this to happen.”
Several sources indicated the fees in question reach around £2,000 for larger aircraft such as Boeing C-17 Globemaster III military transports.
Sources with knowledge of Prestwick’s in-house fixed base operations business said the alleged waivers have been taking place since around 2016 to 2017, and in the full knowledge of senior management.
One senior source familiar with the airport’s military business said the decision was made to ensure the troubled hub was seen as competitive in the eyes of the US military, and protect a lucrative multimillion pound refuelling deal with the US Defence Logistics Agency (DLA), which has paid Prestwick nearly £14 million since October 2017.
“I’d suggest what’s happening is Scottish taxpayers are picking up the tab for the largest and wealthiest military force on the planet,” one source said. “The US military crews pick up fuel as part of the DLA contract, that’s it.”
Another source with knowledge of Prestwick’s operations said: “The only charges the US military get are fuel costs. Everything else is waived. That’s on the basis the DLA contract is fairly lucrative and those fees should be waived.”
The Scotsman can also reveal navigation, landing, and parking fees chargeable to US military aircraft are being picked up by UK taxpayers via the Ministry of Defence (MOD).
The deal, confirmed by the MOD, forms part of a longstanding reciprocal arrangement with the US Defence Department. There is no suggestion it is improper or illegal.
Asked if it or the Scottish Government was aware, or had any oversight over, or input into, the alleged waivers, a spokeswoman for Transport Scotland, said: “Glasgow Prestwick Airport is operated on a commercial basis and at arm’s length from the Scottish Government, in compliance with European Union state aid rules. Ministers do not intervene in the commercial discussions at the airport.
“The senior management team at the airport has been tasked with all aspects of taking the airport forward, including building on existing revenue streams. Prestwick has handled military and private flights since the 1930s and it remains an important part of the airport’s business.”
A spokeswoman for the US Embassy in London did not address the question of whether it was aware of the waiver allegations.
She said: “The US has reciprocal understandings with many nations, including the UK, whereby airports waive landing and parking fees for government aircraft.”
“I’d suggest what’s happening is Scottish taxpayers are picking up the tab for the largest and wealthiest military force on the planet”
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