Limos ‘cheaper’ than £7m London air link
TAXPAYERS fork out an average of £177 for every return flight between Dundee and London, a Sunday Post investigation can reveal.
A staggering £7.4m of public money has been committed to the twice-a-day route in a deal now extended until 2019.
The £89 subsidy is often more than the cost of a single flight booked in advance.
Critics last night claimed it wouldbecheapertoputallthe passengers in limos from Tayside to Edinburgh Airport and catch flights south from there.
Gordon Dewar, Edinburgh Airport chief executive, said: “This is ridiculous. The UK Government should stop throwing good money at services that offer little or no return for the Scottish economy.
“It would actually be cheaper for the taxpayer to fork out for limos to Edinburgh Airport for these passengers than continuing with this subsidy!
“In reality the money would be far better used to improve infrastructure and sustainable public transport options to and from viable Scottish airports.”
Civil Aviation Authority figures show 20,852 passengers travelled between Dundee and London Stansted in 2016.
Earlier this month, a deal to secure the Loganair route for another two years was agreed for £3.7m, matching the sum already paid out since 2014.
Assuming passenger numbers stay the same for this year and next, 41,704 people will use the service. Dividing the £3.7m subsidy for that period by that passenger figure works out as £89 per one-way journey or £177 for every return.
A return flight between Dundee and London at seven days’ notice cost £290 when The Sunday Post looked last week.
Return flights booked two months in advance were available for around half that price, with a one-way ticket costing £75.
The UK Government will contribute 50% of the latest subsidy, with the Scottish Government putting in £1.4m and Dundee City Council providing £400,000.
The Sunday Post spoke to two executive car services in Dundee who both said they would drive someone from the city to Edinburgh Airport for £80.
Scottish Greens transport spokesperson John Finnie MSP said: “Subsidising air travel is justified for rural communities but it’s hard to see what reason there can be for this level of support in and out of our fourth largest city.
“Day-to-day public transport is suffering with bus routes being axed, fares going up and rail commuters jammed in like sardines. It’s time our governments invested in these priorities.”
When the Dundee-London route was announced in June 2014, some industry watchers suspected it was a political decision, as it came just months before the independence referendum.
A UK Government spokeswoman said: “Without UK Government support, Dundee would lose its only air link to the UK’s capital, causing harmful knock-on effects to its businesses and flourishing tourism sector.”
A Transport Scotland spokesman said: “The Dundee-Stansted service provides vital connectivity for business and leisure passengers, opens up the city and the surrounding Tayside area to wider markets, and plays a major role in the long-term regeneration of the airport.”