Pilots back Glasgow Airport rail link
03.11.09
Airline pilots who fly for 10 scheduled airlines and four charter airlines into and out of Glasgow Airport have thrown their weight behind the proposed rail link between the airport and the city centre. The British Airline Pilots' Association (BALPA) has written to all MSPs asking them to sign the motion tabled by Bill Butler calling for the restoration of the project, recently axed by Finance Minister John Swinney MSP.
In the letter, also sent to First Minister Alex Salmond, BALPA says that the future of the airport depends upon its accessibility and the withdrawal of the rail link will damage this, particularly in 2014 when Glasgow hosts the Commonwealth Games. The impact on the economy of west Scotland cannot be discounted, the pilots say, with 8.3 percent of jobs in Greater Glasgow being in aviation, travel and tourism.
BALPA recalls that then transport minister Stewart Stevenson MSP last year stated that the rail link between the city and the airport was 'a nationally significant project vital to the local and wider economy.' The letter adds: 'While Glasgow is the fourth most visited city by tourists coming to the UK its nearest rivals, Liverpool, Birmingham and Cardiff, have direct rail connections to their airports.'
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