WORLD leaders attending COP26 have been slated for valet-style private jet trips that dropped them off in Glasgow before jetting off just 40 miles to park in Prestwick Airport.
A dozen aircraft carrying delegates from countries including Cyprus, Egypt, Bolivia and Croatia landed in Glasgow Airport on Sunday, only to return to the runway mere hours later to make a 25-minute-long trip to the Ayrshire port.
And three of these flights were due to make the same trip short trip back to Glasgow before returning to their own countries yesterday.
The extra flights, which would have taken just 36 minutes by car, or an hour by train from the airport’s dedicated train station, have been slammed by politicians and campaigners, who say the journeys “make a mockery” of what COP26 is trying to achieve.
Meanwhile the Scottish Conservatives have accused the Scottish Government of allowing Glasgow Prestwick Airport, which is government-owned, to be used as a “car park for private jets”.
It follows claims that the jets arriving in both Glasgow and Edinburgh for the summit would generate more CO2 emissions than 1,000 Scots burn in one year.
Extra trips
Flight data seen by The Herald showed a Cyprus Airways flight travelled from Larnaca to Glasgow on Sunday afternoon. Just over an hour later, the same aircraft took off and travelled 25 minutes south to land at Prestwick Airport at 2.23pm. The Airbus A319-114 last night travelled the return leg at 5.40pm, before then departing for Larnaca at around 7.10pm.
Cyprus Airways confirmed to The Herald that the aircraft was carrying Nicos Anastasiades, the President of the Republic of Cyprus, along with half a dozen ministers from the government. They were dropped off in Glasgow, before the plane was then directed to Prestwick Airport to park.
A government spokeswoman said that, while they never provide information relating to the President’s flights for security reasons, Cyprus “followed all the instructions” of the COP26 organisers and hosts.
Elsewhere, a private jet from Croatia landed in Glasgow from the Zagreb on Sunday at 8.45am. After spending just over an hour on the runway, it travelled to Prestwick at 9.55am. Last night, it was due to leave Prestwick Airport at 4.40pm, before stopping briefly at Glasgow before making the two-and-a-half-hour flight to Zagreb.
The Bombardier Challenger 604 belongs to the Croatian Government, and it is thought to be transporting delegates from the government to the summit in Glasgow. It is not known if the country’s president, Zoran Milanović, was among those on board. The Croatian Government did not respond to The Herald’s request for comment.
Criticism
The short-haul flights have been slammed as “making a mockery” of what COP26 is trying to achieve, with the Scottish Greens saying the “free-for-all” is completely unacceptable.
Scottish Greens environment spokesperson Mark Ruskell MSP said: “COP26 presents a huge opportunity to bring world leaders together and deliver the climate action that is so desperately needed.
“The nature of such an event means that there will be an inevitable increase in transport emissions as people descend on the city. But that doesn’t mean that there should be a free for all.
“Having private jets flying between Glasgow and Prestwick is absolutely absurd and completely unnecessary.
“The world is watching in the hope that leaders can deliver on their promises, but they are also watching and seeing hypocrisy on a grand scale.”
The Scottish Conservatives looked to the Scottish Government-owned Prestwick Airport, and accused the SNP of allowing it to be used as a “car park” for delegate planes.
The party’s shadow transport minister, Graham Simpson MSP, said: “Every country attending COP26 must do their bit to reduce the impact of climate change, although it’s worth noting that for some attendees air travel will be the most efficient option.
“Going forward, if the SNP are serious about tackling climate change then they will think twice about allowing a Scottish Government-owned airport to be used as a car park for private jets.”
Scottish labour criticised the length of the flights, and said world leaders and politicians have to ‘practice what we preach’.
Transport spokesman Neil Bibby said: “The rhetoric we’re hearing from COP26 will ring hollow if people’s actions don’t match up.
“Air travel is an inevitable part of a global summit, but 20-minute plane journeys make a mockery of what we’re trying to do here.
“If we are going to have a chance of tackling the climate emergency we should all willing to practice what we preach.”
A Glasgow Prestwick Airport spokeswoman said: “As one of the three airports in Scotland providing entry for COP26, Glasgow Prestwick Airport is playing a key role in supporting the transit of delegates.
“As a security precaution we are unable to share details about flights.”
The Scottish Government told The Herald that planes have also been parked in English airports amid a lack of space in Glasgow Airport.
A Transport Scotland spokeswoman said: “Edinburgh, Glasgow and Prestwick airports are playing an essential role in the delivery of COP26.
“Given space constraints at airports during this event, some countries have dropped passengers in one airport and repositioned aircraft to another airport in Scotland or England.
“These decisions, including which airports to use, are entirely for the aircraft operators concerned.”
Glasgow Airport refused to comment.
A COP26 spokeswoman said: “All delegates have been encouraged to consider low-carbon travel options to attend COP26.
“The UK will be offsetting carbon emissions associated with running the event, including international travel.”
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