Grayling: Heathrow expansion will benefit Scottish airports

Mr Grayling said opportunities for Scottish airports would be a condition of building a third runway at Heathrow

The expansion of Heathrow will benefit airports across Scotland, UK Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has said.

Speaking as he visited Glasgow Airport, Mr Grayling said the plan would also create jobs and international business opportunities for Scottish companies.

Some London flights from Scottish airports have been squeezed out in recent years on capacity grounds.

But Mr Grayling said opportunities for Scottish airports would be a condition of building a third runway at Heathrow.

The UK's Department for Transport said it expected Prestwick in South Ayrshire to be one of the airports added to the west London hub's domestic network by 2030.

'Really good story'

Mr Grayling's comments came after he launched a public consultation on a new runway, which is unlikely to be operational until 2025.

He said: "I think the expansion of Heathrow is a really good story for Scotland.

"It's going to bring jobs north of the border to businesses who support the expansion itself and it will also support economic growth and strengthen Scotland's ties, through Heathrow, with the rest of the world.

"We want to see as many direct flights from this airport but Heathrow is a hub that can take people from Scotland to places around the world that will open up new opportunities for Scottish businesses."

Scottish ministers have backed plans for a third runway, arguing that it offers significant strategic and economic benefits for Scotland and could lead to 16,000 new jobs.

Mr Grayling said the benefits would be spread beyond Scotland's main airports.

He added: "The benefit of the expansion for Scottish airports like Prestwick and regional airports further north is that it's going to create far more opportunity for flights within the UK.

"In recent years, the way Heathrow has changed, some of those flights have been squeezed out.

"With a big increase in capacity, we're going to start to see stronger links around the UK, better links to Scotland, and it's going to be one of the conditions that we're going to set Heathrow Airport, that it's got to provide additional opportunities within the UK."