AIRPORT bosses in Glasgow and Aberdeen have expressed their uncertainty and concern for the future of the aviation industry as the new Omicron covid variant emerges.
According to AGS Airports – owners of Glasgow and Aberdeen – new travel restrictions brought around by the Omicron variant has dealt a ‘hammer blow’ to the industry.
The bosses are claiming that their airports have been brought to a ‘standstill’ with Glasgow Airport’s traffic falling to its lowest for nearly 50 years.
Glasgow Airport – Scotland's second busiest after Edinburgh – is expected to handle only 1.9 million passengers this year – the lowest since 1973.
There have also been reports of passengers cancelling flights or not showing up for them.
READ MORE: EasyJet plane to Glasgow declares mid-air emergency
AGS Airports’ communications and sustainability director, Brian McClean yesterday told the house of commons’ transport committee that the new restrictions will set the industry back decades as it is just starting to recover.
Mr McClean said: "We have been at a standstill for 20 months – it’s hugely concerning.
"It's another hammer blow to our recovery, to the passenger confidence that had slowly been returning.
"We were at a point where we believed we were starting to regrow and rebuild, but this is a real worry for everyone.
“This has set us back decades and were are also now hearing anecdotal evidence of passengers cancelling flights and passengers not turning up for flights.”
He also said a huge redundancy programme last year was linked to the loss of around 3,000 jobs - both directly and indirectly. AGS said later these included 200 direct job losses at the airports.
According to AGS, the decline in the industry will spell disaster for many airports as flights will become less frequent but the buildings will still stand, meaning there is likely to be more competition between airports.
Mr McClean added: "It is quite difficult to tell how it is going to pan out.
“As we come out of this, we are going to see fewer airlines with fewer aircraft, we are going to see greater consolidation.
"But there’s going to be the same number of airports, so that means our recovery is going to be intensely competitive, and that’s our concern.
"We are extremely worried about developments at the moment.”
Loganair chief commercial officer Kay Ryan told the committee that the Glasgow-based airline’s corporate travel market had been "massively impacted" by the pandemic, because of the work from home policy adopted by many organisations.
Ms Ryan said: “We are at 75-80 per cent of 2019 levels.
"I can’t see that 20 per cent coming back any time soon, and that’s the concern.”
READ MORE: 5,000 aviation jobs lost – while £1.2bn public money spent saving buses, trains & ScotGov airports
A spokesman for Edinburgh Airport said: “We understand the need for restrictions to allow time for scientists to find out more, but they must be proportionate and discussed in a way that is constructive and informative.
"Unfortunately, they are currently presented in a reactionary manner and that is proving damaging to the recovery of the industry.
“Passenger confidence is key and the swift move to call for increased restrictions only serves to make a fragile situation even worse, with passengers already cancelling flights or simply not showing up.
"This is not sustainable and does not provide solid foundations to plan a recovery from.
"There must be more recognition of the fragility of travel, its importance to our economic recovery and the need to support it.”
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