A Scottish airport plans to double its capacity to and from the United States with a groundbreaking gateway plan.
The country’s busiest airport has held discussions with United States Border and Customs Protection over creating an American “border” in Scotland.
The preclearance system would see US officials based at Edinburgh Airport carry out their checks in this country, allowing passengers to leave the destination airport more swiftly or transfer with greater ease.
As Edinburgh Airport warned that current issues with European hubs around baggage delays are likely to continue, and a longer roll-out of new technology is expected, it also said that while the plans might be more than two years away, it is confident it would bring a significant boost.
In 2022 the US was Scotland’s largest international source market measured by number of visits, nights and spend, with 693,000 trips by American visitors, who also accounted for 21% of all overseas trips to Scotland and 38% of all overseas spend.
Gordon Dewar, chief executive of Edinburgh Airport, said: “We’ve now spoken with CBP, which is the border agency in the US, and they are saying the same, they are willing to work with us if their government signs a UK deal and we can get on with it.
“Given where we are in the election cycle that is not happening in the next five weeks and then of course we go into the American cycle, so my expectation now is that I would like the incoming UK government to be ready to open that discussion as soon as there is a new incoming US government, because it seems unlikely that we are going to get any political time in the diary before then.”
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He also said there is a wider appetite for the move in America: “We are seeing lots of positive debate, there is a whole delegation of Florida congress representatives that are lobbying in their constituent government on the basis that they want better connectivity for British tourists coming in, for example.
“There is a growing demand for it. Our lobbying of the UK government is ‘please take the lead’.”
Mr Dewar said: “If you look at the Dublin model, they do four times the American flow that we do in terms of capacity. I’m not saying we could replicate all of that, but I think there is the scope to have at least double in terms of demand and that is a combination of larger aircraft, frequencies but also other destinations as well.
“The other thing in our favour coming that way is new tech, with ultra long-range aircraft coming. That opens up a lot of new opportunities as well, and year-round opportunities.
“So we are really confident it is a major growth. It comes from expanding your surface catchment into north England, but it also means we would get more transfer traffic.”
Also this week, business correspondent Kristy Dorsey writes that regulations banning the installation of oil and gas heating systems in new-build properties in Scotland will lead to fewer homes built at greater cost to developers and residents.
Plus, deputy business editor Scott Wright talks to the chef patron of an award-winning Edinburgh restaurant who has revealed why he feels the time is right to open a second venture under his Ondine seafood brand.
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