Aberdeen airport boss calls for clarity from Scottish Government on "air bridges"

The head of Aberdeen International Airport has called for Holyrood to make clear its stance on quarantine for people travelling from overseas.

Chief executive of AGS Airports, Derek Provan, claims a failure to do so risks losing further jobs in the sector, which has already been hit hard by the collapse in air travel due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Last week, Nicola Sturgeon branded the UK Government's handling of air bridges "shambolic", but said the Scottish Government was likely to ease restrictions for people travelling from "low risk" countries. 

The first minister also confirmed they will review the list of countries deemed to be "medium risk" over the coming days.

But Mr Provan has warned that the industry cannot afford any further delay by government. 

He said: “We said at the outset that a blanket quarantine policy would be ineffective, unworkable and hugely damaging to our sector and the wider economy. Since it was put in place, thousands of jobs within our aviation and tourism sectors have been lost and the fact the policy has not even been enforced means our recovery plans have been stifled unnecessarily.

“We need clarity as soon as possible on when we can move to the targeted, risk-based approach of air bridges which will allow us to safely re-establish routes and prevent further jobs being put at risk. I appreciate government has difficult decisions to make during this crisis but we cannot afford any further delay.”

During the Scottish Government's daily briefing earlier today, Nicola Sturgeon said: "It is highly likely we will give the go ahead to countries categorised in the green group.

"We are looking more closely at the countries that are in the amber risk grouping. The data that we've been provided with on these countries is only up to June 19 and therefore we're seeking further data and looking at how we can get a more up to date position.

"I would hope to confirm our final view of that within the next couple of days, so we're on track to make any regulation changes by the end of the week."