New EasyJet and Flybe services from Aberdeen International Airport welcomed
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Gordon MP Richard Thomson, whose constituency includes Aberdeen International Airport, has welcomed the announcements from EasyJet and Flybe of new services to and from Aberdeen.
The airport is one of the north-east’s major transport hubs and an important economic driver for the region which contributes more than £110 million a year to the local economy.
It is the gateway to Europe’s energy capital and is the continent's busiest commercial heliport. The airport also supports 3400 jobs across the north-east.
Mr Thomson said: “This is good news for the north-east and is a further indication of the re-connectivity taking place as we gradually emerge from the global pandemic, with routes to Ireland, Gatwick, Manchester and Birmingham announced.
“Transport links are key for the north-east economy and the Scottish Government’s investment in the AWPR and the Aberdeen to Inverness rail line complement the services offered or about to be offered at Aberdeen International Airport.
“Travellers are of course increasingly conscious about their environmental footprint so the commitment from Flybe to planes which are quieter and emit 35 per cent less CO2 on a per seat basis is welcome.”
EasyJet will grow its services from Aberdeen International Airport on Monday by doubling its daily summer frequency to London Gatwick and launching its Manchester route on a seasonal basis.
Meanwhile, North East region MSP Douglas Lumsden has called on the SNP and Green Ministers to restore Aberdeen airport's status as a national travel corridor, after it was "revoked" from a 20-year Scottish strategy.
The fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4) is due to be approved at the Scottish Parliament this year.
Aberdeen featured in the last "spatial strategy" which airport chiefs described as "important for investor confidence and the ability of airports to develop and decarbonise."
But no mention of that status has been made in the new framework.
Operator AGS has written to the parliament's economy committee arguing that it is "imperative" the final NPF4 restores Aberdeen as a designated national development.
Mr Lumsden said: "At present, we are lagging behind other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries in connectivity.
"There is a great opportunity here to recognise and develop regional airports like Aberdeen.
"Aviation connectivity will only become more important for the north-east, if we are to develop Aberdeen as the green energy capital of Europe, and fully harness the potential of freeports.
"But, as is ever the case for this SNP-Green government, the potential for growth and jobs is ignored.
"One might ask what has happened between the start of the process and this draft, and whether the Greens have exerted undue influence.
"Regardless, regional airports have fallen off the face of the earth."
It follows a Westminster report that criticised the "distortion" made when the Scottish Government backed Prestwick Airport with £45 million during the pandemic, while competing airports received no share of the Covid cash.
Scottish Affairs Committee member Andrew Bowie, the MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, said: "It is unacceptable to erase Aberdeen from the spatial strategy — effectively removing it from national planning consideration for a generation.
"During the pandemic, regional airports like Aberdeen struggled as much as any others.
"Job losses, route cutting and major economic uncertainty affected them all.
"But there was no help for some, while the SNP were content to throw good money after bad elsewhere."
