AYRSHIRE'S four Labour MPs said yesterday they had an encouraging
meeting with the British Airports Authority chief, Sir John Egan, over
the future of Prestwick Airport.
The politicians, Mr George Foulkes, Mr David Lambie, Mr Brian Wilson
and Mr Willie McKelvey, had asked for talks to call for a quick
conclusion to discussions over the facility's future.
BAA announced earlier this year that it wished to dispose of the
airport. Three groups, including British Aerospace, which employs more
than 2000 people at the site and runs a commercial flying school, had
expressed interest in acquiring it.
In a statement issued after yesterday's meeting, the MPs said that BAA
had intimated it hoped to sell the airport in a way that was acceptable
to BAe and that would allow for the continued commercial operation of
the facility.
The MPs described the talks as encouraging and constructive.
They said Prestwick deserved the chance to prosper under new ownership
and that, while discussions with the three interested buyers had dragged
on, the airport was declining rapidly with staff morale at an all time
low, facilities closing down and potential services lost.
Prestwick was hit badly by the 1990 decision to allow Glasgow and
Edinburgh airports to compete with it for transatlantic flights.
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