Professor John Robertson OBA
This is conjecture and I will admit to only having an SCE Higher in Economics, C pass, 1969, but I sniff something good here.
From BBC Glasgow & West Scotland, today, making it to the business page but not to the main page:
Prestwick Airport has reported an increase in its financial performance as well as its cargo operations in the last year. The Scottish government-owned airport recorded a £3.5m operating profit for the year to 31 March 2025 – an increase of £300,000 from the previous year.
The report said it has already achieved its annual operating target in the first six months of the financial year. It marks the sixth consecutive year of profit for the airport, known officially as Glasgow Prestwick. Prestwick has reinvested around £10m in its airfield, ground services equipment and security in the last 18 months.
But the growth in cargo operations has been driven by the airport’s success in attracting e-commerce flights from China. Chief executive Ian Forgie said cargo volumes at the airport are expected to treble in the financial year to March 2026. He said the base is currently handing 21 wide-bodied freighters a week and more than 3,800 tonnes of cargo a month, which has created more than 150 new jobs.
“This positions Prestwick Airport as a first-class export gateway for Scottish exports such as high value seafood and whisky which are in high demand in mainland China and Hong Kong,” he added. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2glk17097o
How did this all start? In November 2013, from BBC Glasgow & West Scotland:
Prestwick Airport has passed into public ownership after being bought by the Scottish government for £1. The facility, which was put up for sale last year by New Zealand firm Infratil, has incurred annual losses of £2m.It is understood a deal was concluded late on Friday. It is expected the airport will continue to operate as normal and there will be no job losses.
Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the deal would help protect the airport and the jobs it supported. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-25055531
‘You’ve got to accumulate to speculate?’
What’s Heathrow got to do with it? Here’s what.
What is the tonnage and value of Scottish salmon exported via Heathrow?
Scottish salmon is consistently described as Heathrow Airport’s single largest export by volume (weight/tonnage), primarily shipped in the bellies of scheduled passenger flights to maintain freshness for distant markets like Asia and the Middle East.Recent data (as of 2024-2025) does not provide exact tonnage or value figures specifically for exports via Heathrow. However:
- For the five years up to 2023, more than 115,000 tonnes of Scottish salmon worth approximately £970 million were exported via Heathrow.
- This averages roughly 23,000 tonnes per year over that period.
In 2024, total Scottish salmon exports reached over 101,000 tonnes worth a record £844 million. Given Heathrow’s dominant role for air-freighted portions (especially long-haul), a significant share—likely the majority of non-EU exports—passes through the airport, though not all exports are air-freighted (e.g., much to France goes by road/sea).No precise breakdown for Heathrow alone in 2024 or 2025 is available in current reports from Salmon Scotland, HMRC, or industry sources. Heathrow remains key due to its extensive global connections compared to Scottish airports. https://x.com/i/grok?conversation=2001241815458930995
No-brainer Number 1 – Why drive frozen salmon from Wester Ross to Heathrow (10 hours, 600 miles) when you could go to Prestwick (4 hours, 240 miles) instead, at less than half the cost? Surely some business folk are thinking about this right now.
No-brainer Number 2 – Scotland is the only part of the UK with a trade surplus so there must be many products going out of Heathrow that could be flown out of Prestwick at far lower cost.
No-brainer Number 3 – Whisky is non-perishable so can go by slow boat to wherever – from Rosyth? Glasgow?
Over to you, you with your degree in Economics. I know you’re out there.
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
Its why the Brit Nat Labour and Tory puppets were so desperate to close Prestwick down.
“Save oor Heathrow”!
gavinochiltree
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Pity there is no direct fast train route from Prestwick to the West coast mainline.
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Scotland’s infrastructure including road and rail was massively neglected by the English who were in control, and quite deliberately.
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There’s a stop from Glasgow
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From an equally limited economic perspective I seem to recall some of Scotland’s exports were not properly categorised as ‘Scottish’ due to the HMRC’s apparent reluctance to accurately distinguish goods originating from separate areas within the UK. With that in mind it does seem logical from a political standpoint if nothing else to utilise the convenient services of Prestwick far more in future.
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you don’t need a lot of qualifications to get a basic grip of the facts. Scotland produces millions and millions of ££s worth of top quality produce. We have our own major airport and several seaports. There’s money to be made here and Scotland deserves its share.
of course this will only happen if we end London Rule and run Scotland for the benefit of Scotland and the Scottish people.
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PS, I hate being anonymous.
John Lawson
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You just have to persevere and sign in to Word Press before you post.
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