Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

‘Stop erosion of north flights’ plea

‘Stop erosion of north flights’ plea

North of Scotland business leaders have called on government to stop the “haemorrhaging” of flight connections to London after a new report published yesterday set out options for UK airports expansion.

The Scottish Council for Development and Industry (SCDI) has warned that the UK Government’s “indecision and inaction” on airport capacity over the years has left UK airports “creaking at the seams” and forced airlines to substitute commercially-viable regional routes for more lucrative services.

Fraser Grieve, director of the SCDI Highlands & Islands, warned that failure to meet the needs of exporters in the North of Scotland would hit tax revenues for the UK.

He said: “Air access to and through London from the north of Scotland continues to erode and it is vital that action is taken to stem the haemorrhaging of our connections.

“Oil and gas services and food and drink in the North are two of the UK’s leading exports, and it is imperative that they can access the international marketplace in order for them to continue to compete and thrive.

“Unless action is taken to increase airport capacity, and protect slots for regional connections, areas of the UK without competitive transport alternatives will be unable to continue to make the valuable economic contribution they have been.”

Politicians are likely to have to decide between a new runway at either Heathrow or Gatwick following an interim report yesterday by the Whitehall-commissioned Airports Commission.

Expansion at Stansted airport in Essex has been ruled out until after 2030 by the commission, which is headed by former Financial Services Authority chief Sir Howard Davies.

Sir Howard’s team have not closed the door on a Thames Estuary scheme, dubbed “Boris Island” because this plan is favoured by London mayor Boris Johnson.

But although the commission will study estuary schemes further, Sir Howard described it as “imaginative”, adding that it could cost as much as £112billion, would need much more public money than the other options and the construction challenge would be “massive”.

The commission concluded that there was “a need for one net additional runway to be in operation in the south-east by 2030 and there was “likely to be a demand case for a second additional runway to be operational by 2050”.

The commission, which was founded last year, is due to make its final report in the summer of 2015 – after the next general election.

SCDI Chief Executive Ross Martin called on all political parties to “put aside their narrow self-interest” to support the commission’s work.

He said: “While the sensitivities around airport expansion are understood, it is incumbent on Government and Parliament to prioritise the national economic interest, including all parts of the UK, and reach decisions which deliver the necessary infrastructure.”