Prestwick and Manston for sale

Stansted is not the only UK airport up for sale.   Infratil, the New Zealand-based company, and operator of Wellington Airport, has confirmed a price of £10.5m for both  Prestwick, south of Glasgow, and Manston Airport in Kent.  They had been valued at £32m earlier this year and said to be worth £44m 18 months ago.

Passenger numbers at Prestwick have dropped to just under 1.1m a year – less than half the level of four years ago – as budget airline Ryanair, which provides the bulk of passenger flights, has relocated many services to Edinburgh.  At Manston an attempt by Flybe with routes to Manchester and Edinburgh were a failure.

The latest devaluation follows warnings in September, by Ayrshire MP Brian Donohoe, that the lack of investment had left Prestwick looking tired and off-putting to potential buyers.  Mr Donohoe is Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Aviation Group. "I'd like it to be sold for a pound, frankly, seeing as they're losing money there, " he said.  "I want someone to come in with the clear understanding that investment is needed.  They need to invest £10m in the airport – and sooner rather than later". www.infratil.com

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