Only space cadets think Humza has a grand plan
THE trouble with turning Prestwick into a spaceport is that we want to travel to the Costas, not the cosmos. The space plan seems the only hope for the white-elephant Ayrshire airport, bought for £1 by the Scottish Government. Millions have since been lavished and the bill is set for a jaw-dropping £40million. Yet passenger flights have tumbled so low airlines use Prestwick for ‘touch-and-go’ landing practice – undercarriage barely kissing the asphalt before the throttles are opened and the jet goes round again. Yet Prestwick should be doing well. In Charlotte, North Carolina, I met a former US Navy aviator. He said that during the war, when everywhere was ‘socked in’ by snow or fog, Prestwick was the diversion airfield they could rely on to be open. (They did have to radio ahead to ensure the main road was shut – in those days the A77 bisected the runway.) Today that runway is an impressive 9,800ft and Prestwick has good road access and a train link. So why can’t the Government capitalise? Because Humza Yousaf is in charge. Where does Prestwick fit in to his grand plan to get us moving? It doesn’t – Humza has no plan except to stagger from crisis to crisis wearing daft hats for photo-opps. Ireland’s Ryanair – the world’s fifth biggest airline – is key, but Nicola Sturgeon would rather talk independence in Dublin than sit with CEO Michael O’Leary. His red-blooded (ie successful) capitalism is too much for a public-sector apparatchik such as Saint Nic. And remember tough-talking Humza (stop laughing at the back!) is plotting to take ScotRail trains into public hands. Him making a success of that sounds as likely as Elvis Presley dropping back in to Prestwick.