Prestwick Airport anticipating huge growth

Over the next decade, Prestwick Airport expects its passenger traffic to more than double.

In the airport’s new 25-year ‘master plan,’ it forecasts that it will handle 5.7 million passengers annually by 2018, with a further increase to around 12 million by 2033.

The plan also suggests that airport will see a four per cent growth in its freight traffic over that same period.

In order to meet the challenges presented by this growth, Prestwick officials have said that the airport’s infrastructure would need to be upgraded, including its passenger facilities and parking.

The chief executive of Prestwick Airport, Mark Rodwell, said: “We expect to gain a greater share of the Scottish market.”

He added: “Our growth will provide more travel opportunities, deliver more visitors, and create more business opportunities and jobs. At the moment more than 20% of our passengers travel to and from the airport by rail but we believe that with improvements to the service this can rise to more than 30% and that is our aim.”

Rodwell went on to explain: “For that to happen we will need longer trains and platforms, more trains every hour, a full refurbishment of our railway station and an increase in operating hours to cover early morning and late night services not currently catered for by public transport.”

Thanks to news.bbc.co.uk for the above quotes, for more information on this article please visit their website.

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