An expanded Heathrow will deliver for Scotland
Expanding Heathrow will create up to 16,100 new skilled jobs in Scotland and deliver up to 14 billion in economic growth
An expanded Heathrow will open new routes including to Inverness and stimulate competition, increase frequencies and lower fares on services to Scotland
Strong support for Heathrow expansion across Scotland – including Scottish Chambers of Commerce, CBI Scotland and Aberdeen, Glasgow and Inverness Airports
With Heathrow expansion, Scotland will benefit from the creation of over 16,000 jobs, lower air fares for passengers and new domestic connections to drive trade, inward investment and exports to global markets, according to a new report by Heathrow released today.
The document – Scotland’s Global Gateway – shows that that Heathrow would:
- Make it cheaper for Scottish goods to get to market: Expansion would double freight capacity at Heathrow, helping Scottish products get to export markets across the globe. In fact, Heathrow’s biggest export by tonnage is Scottish Salmon - £290million of which passed through Heathrow last year
- Provide better timed and more frequent flights: Heathrow has committed to a package of measures which would result in better timed and more frequent flights between Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Aberdeen airports and a start-up fund to support new links to un-served airports like Dundee. easyJet, which has committed to operate out of Heathrow if it gets expansion, has also published an indicative route network which would see a new link between Inverness and Heathrow and the low-cost airline adding more flights onto the 3 existing Scottish routes
- Lower fares for passengers: The Airports Commission confirmed in its final report that an expanded Heathrow would enhance competition and drive down fares for Scottish passengers more than any other previous expansion option as low-cost carriers like easyJet launch services from the hub. In its submission to the Commission, easyJet said: “The average fares of low-cost airlines are significantly lower than those of legacy network carriers. easyJet’s experience suggests that when we enter a route that is only flown by legacy network airlines, our average fares will be 40% lower than that of the legacy airlines. The entry of low-cost airlines on a route leads to lower fares for everyone, as competing airlines also lower their fares.”
- Better connection times and improved resilience: An expanded Heathrow will transform the airport experience for Scottish passengers with new world-class terminal facilities, minimum connection times falling to as little as 45 minutes and the additional capacity to improve resilience and reliability
- Be supported by business groups and airports across Scotland: There is huge and growing support in Scotland for Heathrow expansion, with Scottish Chambers of Commerce, SCDI, CBI Scotland and Aberdeen, Glasgow and Inverness airports backing our plans. Heathrow expansion is also supported by Trade Unions with the TUC, GMB, UNITE and BALPA all backing the plans.
In addition, new figures from independent research company QUOD show that Heathrow expansion would prove a boost to the Scottish manufacturing sector which would be spurred on by the creation of up to 7,000 new skilled jobs. As well as being an export industry which will benefit significantly from improved trade links, the Scottish manufacturing sector will benefit directly from Heathrow’s expansion programme as the airport sources materials and services to build the a new runway and terminal facilities.
A diverse supply chain spread across the whole of the UK will be critical to delivering an expanded Heathrow on time and on budget. That’s why Heathrow established a Procurement Strategy Forum earlier this year, which includes a representative from the Scottish Government, to work with Heathrow on developing a procurement strategy which maximises the opportunities for growth in Scotland. The Forum has its inaugural meeting on the 28th October.
Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye said:
“An expanded Heathrow will deliver jobs and growth for Scotland – creating over 16,000 new skilled jobs and delivering up to £14 billion in economic growth. With more capacity at the UK’s only hub, it’ll also be cheaper for Scottish exports to get to market with up to 40 new long haul links. Scottish passengers will see new connections to cities like Inverness, increased competition on existing routes and lower fares as low-cost carriers like easyJet boost links between Scotland and an expanded Heathrow. Let’s build it.”
