Here is the important story:
A STRIKE ballot of airport staff over pay and conditions has raised the prospect of more flight disruption in the Capital.Here is the non story:The Unite union will ballot 6000 members next Friday for strike action at BAA's six UK airports, including Edinburgh.
EDINBURGH Airport's controversial drop-off charge is a "desperate" attempt to raise extra cash amid signs that passenger growth forecasts are set to flop, an aviation expert claimed today.Now, I happen to agree with Richard Havers in saying that the airport's forecasts are probably too optimistic:
"They predicted far too rosy a future and now it's not happening they are desperately to claw some money back."But what's extraordinary is the huge fuss that's broken out over the airport's plan to charge £1 for dropping off passengers outside the terminal building. This story has been all over the local media for a week or more and has generated a vast outcry, the likes of which I haven't seen for quite a while. Come on now: just how often does the typical Edinburgh resident drop off a passenger at the airport? It seems to me that what we're seeing is another outbreak of agoraphobia - fear of markets.
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olin Finlay
Doubtless awkward questions will be asked - but probably in Spanish.
20 July 2010, 10:40:46 GMT+01:00
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Richard Havers
The real story here is why are the BAA doing something that is so daft. It will earn maybe a £1 million a year in revenue and there will be costs attached to the scheme. The fact is that the BAA have made a hash of their Edinburgh forward plan. Wildly optimistic estimates of growth back in 2006 and therefore wildly optimistic estimates of the potential number of shoppers in the terminal. The BAA's business model is too skewed towards shopping and therefore the whole business of passenger numbers is crucial. They need growth but frankly there are not enough of us in Scotland to provide the kind of growth they need, nor is it likely that tourism will grow in the way they are predicting. The fact is they got it wrong and some shareholders will be asking awkward questions.
18 July 2010, 09:22:58 GMT+01:00
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