A general view of Prestwick Airport, Glasgow
HIGH-ROLLING golfers have fuelled a massive surge in private jet flights from Scottish government-owned Glasgow Prestwick airport, according to Oxfam Scotland.
Researchers for the anti-poverty charity found that a total of 12,143 private jet flights used Scottish airports last year, with Prestwick not only seeing a 32 per cent increase on 2023 but a staggering 123 per cent surge when the Open golf championship was hosted at nearby Royal Troon last July.
Oxfam Scotland’s Jamie Livingstone said the figures “should embarrass the Scottish government,” adding: “For a government that’s already scrapped a key climate target and diluted vital green policies, continuing to give ultra-wealthy polluters an easy ride adds insult to injury.
“The First Minister says he backs landing a fair tax on pollution-spewing private jets, but so far it’s all talk, no take-off.”
Backing the call, the Scottish Greens’ Ross Greer said it was necessary in “raising cash for public services and taking action to tackle the climate emergency.”
A Scottish government spokesperson responded: “Ministers are open to the suggestion of higher rates of air departure tax on private jet flights.”
It’s hard to understand how minor divisions can come to dominate the process of building a challenge to the rule of the rich when the desperate need for a vehicle to fight poverty and despair is so abundantly clear, writes MATT KERR
