The chief executive of Gatwick airport will today tell a group of MSPs and aviation representatives that choosing to expand Heathrow could threaten many of Scotland’s long-haul routes.
Speaking in Edinburgh Stewart Wingate will say that only an extra runway at Gatwick will help Scotland’s direct air routes “flourish”.
He will add that building a new runway at Gatwick will create a more competitive UK airports market, and free-up important public sector investment for areas outside London.
Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye is also addressing the same audience in Edinburgh and will point to the economic benefits an expanded Heathrow will bring to Scotland.
Britain’s largest airport has also received support from key business groups including the Scottish Chambers of Commerce and Scottish council for development and industry.
The Airports Commission is considering three options to increase the UK’s runway capacity and is expected to make its recommendation to the UK government in the coming weeks.
A spokesperson for Heathrow said: “An expanded Heathrow would mean better connectivity for Scotland, not only to London but to the world’s fastest growing economies – resulting in up to £14bn of economic growth and 16,100 new Scottish jobs.
“The evidence is clear – Easyjet has stated that it wants to operate existing and new routes to Scottish destinations from Heathrow. And that’s why we have the support of the 2 main business groups in Scotland, the Scottish Chambers of Commerce and the SCDI; and Glasgow and Aberdeen Airports.”
Wingate will say: “This is an important debate for Scotland, and the choice boils down to competition versus monopoly. Do we want to protect and strengthen Scotland’s growing network of routes by creating a competitive system across the UK, or put that at risk by creating a monopolistic mega-hub at London Heathrow?”
“The Airports Commission itself found that in every future scenario, Scotland will have a larger share of the UK airports market if Gatwick expands. That amounts to 14% more daily scheduled international services from airports outside London and 50 million more passengers through Scotland’s airports.”
Wingate will add the public has two choices, a Gatwick that will “fight for competition and lower fares” or the “dead hand” of Heathrow “sucking traffic through London and demanding at least £5.7 billion of taxpayers’ money”.
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