Scottish Conservatives call for Air Route Development Fund

The Scottish Conservative Party is calling for the creation of an EU compliant successor to the Air Route Development Fund to help boost the Scottish economy and tourism.

The fund, to help airlines launch new direct flights to Scotland was scrapped when the SNP came to power in 2007.

Under the previous administration it created more than 50 new routes to places such as Stockholm and Rome. This boosted passenger numbers by almost two million and was worth an extra £50million a year to the economy.

Scottish Conservative Finance Spokesman, Gavin Brown MSP said:

"The SNP claim they cannot operate the air route fund because it falls foul of EU rules.

"However, there is now a strong consensus that an EU compliant successor could be developed to help boost tourism and the economy. What is required is the political will to make it happen.

"The SNP are always moaning about the powers they do not have, but here is something they have control over which could help businesses in Scotland to become more competitive while boosting our tourism industry.

"Alex Salmond stated on his return from China how he wants to create a direct air link to the country, so he should get on with it."

A copy of the 'Evaluation of the Scottish Air Route Development Fund Study' report can be found here:

http://www.evaluationsonline.org.uk/evaluations/Browse.do?ui=browse&action=show&id=384&taxonomy=EQT

Back to all posts