By Scott Wright

THE chief executive of the firm which owns Glasgow Airport has thrown the gauntlet down to government to support the aviation sector, declaring that mass testing must be pressed into action to get the stricken industry back up and running.

Derek Provan, boss of AGS Airports, also warned that future connectivity to Scotland will be undermined amid the wave of consolidation he expects to take place across the industry as a result of the fallout from coronavirus, unless operations are restarted as a matter urgency.

Speaking at a Glasgow Chamber of Commerce webinar last night, Mr Provan laid bare the extent of the downturn seen at the Glasgow Airport owner since the pandemic began. While revenue has plummeted to around just two per cent of pre-Covid levels, AGS has kept its airports open throughout the crisis to maintain lifeline services to locations in the Highlands and Islands and the Channel Islands. However, this has meant AGS is still maintaining 80 per cent of its cost base, Mr Provan said. AGS was recently forced to open consultation over “large-scale redundancies”.

Referring to yesterday’s news from the UK Government of a strategy to help students travel home for Christmas, Mr Provan said that if mass testing can be used for this purpose, it can also be used to bring travellers into a country.

While the aviation industry has access to the tests, kits and modelling needed to get air corridors open again, he noted: “What we have is dithering from the government that is stopping us from opening up again.”

The Glasgow in the Covid-19 World webinar, one of two planned by the Chamber, also heard from Sir Anton Muscatelli, principal and vice chancellor of the University of Glasgow; Nicola Taylor, chief executive of Chardon Hotels; and Keith Anderson; boss of ScottishPower. There were presentations, too, from Malcolm Buchanan, Scotland chairman of Royal Bank of Scotland, and the bank’s principal economist, Stephen Blackman.

Sir Anton emphasised the need to learn lessons from the “scarring” caused to Glasgow by the prolonged economic downturn of the 1980s in approaching the current economic crisis. Along with Mr Blackman, he expressed the view that there is likely to be a “K-shaped” recovery, meaning some sectors will rebound more quickly than others, with the economic pain unevenly felt. Sir Anton also said efforts should be made to ensure that there is a “green recovery” from the crisis, which he noted offers the best prospects for jobs for young people, attracting investment, and preventing long-term “scarring”.

Ms Taylor, whose firm owns six hotels in Scotland run under InterContinental Hotels Group franchises, said the hotel industry had entered the crisis with an over-supply of rooms, which meant it was already under pressure before the pandemic struck. But she expressed confidence that the hotel sector will recover, pointing to China where large-scale events are taking place once again. However, Ms Taylor said the hotel industry in China was being supported by the domestic market because “people are not travelling”.