Tourism & business chiefs slam airline's decision to axe Glasgow to London link

Feb 3 2011 By Emma Smith

BMI's decision to scrap the Glasgow to Heathrow route could damage city tourism, a leading business expert has warned.

The German-owned airline blamed an increase in charges at the London airport for the move to withdraw its seven daily flights from March 27.

About 90 staff are expected to be laid off and the news will be a major blow to the 400,000 air passengers who use the route annually.

It also cuts off BMI's link between Glasgow and Heathrow for tourists planning a holiday to and from the city.

BMI will still fly from Glasgow Airport to East Midlands, Leeds, Bradford and Copenhagen,while routes from Heathrow to Edinburgh and Aberdeen will remain.

Business leaders warned that it would be bad news for Scotland's economy.

Liz Cameron, chief executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, called BMI's Heathrow link "vital" for Glasgow.

She said: "With wider transport options to reach Edinburgh and Aberdeen, this could damage Glasgow's attractiveness as a destination for tourists and in the heavily competitive conference market.

"In the wake of BMI's decision to suspend its Glasgow-Heathrow flights, the priority must be to boost Glasgow's connectivity by air and rail to London and to restore its accessibility to international visitors."

The Scottish Government hit out at the decision and Scottish Secretary Michael Moore described the route suspension as "disappointing" and said it had "not been taken lightly".

BMI, who employ 138 staff at Glasgow Airport, admitted that staff could be made redundant.

They blamed BAA, who own both airports, for increasing charges at Heathrow, making the route "unsustainable".

In a statement, they said: "From April 1, the domestic passenger charge will increase from £13 to £20 per passenger as part of a changed charging structure at London Heathrow .

"An annual, regulator-approved increase will also be implemented, bringing the total charge to £22 per departing domestic passenger .

"The increase in charges will make the already loss-making route from London Heathrow to Glasgow unsustainable."

But BAA hit back, claiming the decision was made by BMI for commercial reasons.

BAA said: "BMI's decision to reduce services from Glasgow to Heathrow has little to do with airport charges .

"BMIhave taken a commercial decision to transfer slots from a loss-making domestic service to more profitable long-haul routes, in line with statements made before our new structure was announced.

"It is unhelpful to lead Scottish travellers to believe this is about just one element of BMI's costs."

Passengers will now be forced to fly with British Airways and there are fears the lack of competition will force prices up.

Scottish Labour transport spokesman Charlie Gordon said: "A lot of people, especially business travellers, use this flight to London. The news is a blow for trade and for tourism.

"Glasgow's sole link will be BA. This is not healthy, for one airline to have a monopoly.

"It is disappointing that despite the efforts of all those with a stake in Glasgow's success, BMI and BAA failed to reach a compromise to their disagreement over proposed increase in landing charges at Heathrow."

Scott Taylor, chief executive of Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, said: "Any job losses incurred would impact the individuals and families of those a f fected and have repercussions for the economy in the west of Scotland."