Scottish aviation rocky, and Prestwick Airport for sale

The pandemic has hit aviation hard in the UK, but more so in Scotland. This is partly down to a lockdown that has lasted longer than in most other parts of the nation and a virus testing regime at airports that was slow to be put in place.

Add to that the continuing application of Air Passenger Duty - which the Scottish government once indicated it would reduce or even eliminate - in favour of the input from the environmental lobby, and it becomes easier to understand why there is concern that airlines will quit Scotland, and that air passengers there will have to travel to airports in England. That is the reverse of the perceived scenario only a few years ago.

To cap it all, the Scottish National Party (SNP), once seemingly entrenched with no serious opposition, is riven with internal conflict, the support for independence is declining rapidly, the economy is in a poor state, and the SNP's purpose is being questioned.

These are not good times for air transport in 'Bonnie Scotland'.