Oban Airport opens – late and over budget
16.08.08
Scotland's newest airport was officially opened this week, more than a year behind schedule and nearly three times over budget. Oban Airport will provide a link with the islands of Coll, Colonsay and Tiree, in a scheme it is hoped will boost the Highland economy and stem depopulation.
The airport opening marks the end of a project conceived by Argyll and Bute Council 9 years ago, and long mired in controversy. Initially earmarked at £3.25 million, and seen as a way of providing lifeline air services between the islands, the local authority's ambition grew to the extent that its former leader, Allan Macaskill, envisioned connecting Oban with Glasgow, Edinburgh, and destinations further afield in Europe.
However, the Oban Airport and two satellite airstrips at Coll and Colonsay were only granted licences for subsidised scheduled flights from the Civil Aviation Authority this year, despite the fact the routes should have been operational last August.
It is understood some councillors envisioned the scheme as a means of turning Oban into the Scottish Newquay, the Cornwall resort which in recent years has expanded its routes and attracted budget airlines. However, none of the industry's main players has expressed an interest in coming to the Hebridean hub, with Highland Airways the sole provider of flights, at a subsidy costing £900,000 over 3 years. After numerous technical and legal difficulties, the scheme is also understood to have cost close to £9m to complete.
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