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Business boss’ plea over Aberdeen flights

A BA flight taking off  from Aberdeen Airport
A BA flight taking off from Aberdeen Airport

A Scottish business leader has called on British Airways (BA) to reconsider a decision to ditch its flights between Aberdeen and London City Airport.

The airline has said the three-flights-a-day service will end in October, pointing out that the route has been operating at a loss since it was introduced two years ago.

But David Watt, executive director of the Institute of Directors (IoD) Scotland, has written to the head of BA urging a rethink.

Mr Watt said the decision was “particularly disappointing” given ongoing efforts to cement Aberdeen’s position as a global energy centre.

In his letter, Mr Watt pointed out the importance of the route to the wider UK economy.

He said: “The prime minister has rightly recognised the significance of this link for the UK oil and gas industry.

“These flights serve a real need for an efficient link between oil and gas industry centres in the Aberdeen area and offices in central London.

“Good air links were one of the reasons the oil and gas industry located in Aberdeen and they remain critical to its continued success.”

Mr Watt said if BA was not able to review the decision, it could allow another operator to take over the service.

He added: “I would also be keen to hear your thinking behind the decision to cut the route between the UK’s two most economically successful cities, and indeed onward to other destinations.”

British Airways executive chairman Keith Williams explained the rationale behind the carrier’s decision in a letter to the Press and Journal this week.

He said soaring rates of air passenger duty (APD) were a “significant factor” in the failure of the route to become commercially viable for the company, which also operates 110 flights a week between Aberdeen and London Heathrow.

Mr Williams said: “Despite the popularity of our Aberdeen to London City route with some customers, including a number of MPs, I regret that there have not been enough customers to make the route financially viable.”

Scotland’s airports and the Scottish Government have repeatedly called for APD – one of the highest rates of aviation tax in the world – to be cut or devolved to Holyrood.

Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow airports have warned that they will lose 2million customers over the next three years because of APD.