There are renewed fears today that ministers will step in to prevent an expansion of parking facilities at Edinburgh Airport.
A report in The Herald claims that ministers intend to undermine attempts to add extra space, as part of a plan to cut down on the number of people travelling to the airport in cars.
The newspaper reports that a draft of the West Edinburgh Planning Framework will scupper BAA’s grand plan of increasing parking spaces from 6,200 to 10,500 by 2013, which would seemingly cause considerable damage to the operator’s overarching expansion ambitions.
Indeed, The Herald goes on to suggest that BAA will respond by insisting that rejecting the parking plan will restrict growth in the Scottish economy by imposing an unnecessary limitation on the airport’s progress in the years ahead.
The money generated through the car parks has traditionally been used to subsidise flights and BAA is likely to argue that any interference here will have a direct impact on customer satisfaction.
Early estimates suggest that 26 million passengers will use Edinburgh Airport by 2030, rising from the current level of just eight million.
Scotland’s capital airport currently serves 85 destinations across the globe, thanks to flights by more than 50 different airlines.
