Heathrow expansion

Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Jobs and Fair Work Keith Brown said:

“We welcome this decision and look forward to working with Heathrow to bring the significant benefits of a third runway at the airport to Scotland.

“Growing the number of direct international air routes to and from Scotland’s own airports remains a top priority for this Government, but a third runway at Heathrow offers all our airports a range of benefits that will help them grow passenger numbers and continue to build on their successes.

“Expansion at Heathrow offers significant job creation, major investment opportunities and, crucially, seeks to address how all of Scotland’s airports benefit from the new runway capacity when it is built and also in the lead-up period. We will now work with both Heathrow and the UK Government to ensure commitments made to Scotland are followed through.

“The potential for a logistics hub to be based at Glasgow Prestwick Airport is also an important part of the Heathrow offer. It would support the pre-fabrication of components for the construction phase, with potential for future work beyond the launch of the third runway, bringing strong economic benefits to the airport and the wider Ayrshire economy.

“It’s now crucial that the UK Government starts work on this immediately and puts in place measures to secure guaranteed access to Heathrow for Scotland’s airports. There can be no further costly delays if Scotland, and the UK as a whole, is to reap the rewards on offer.”