The deadline for the proposed sale of Glasgow Prestwick has passed, with talks seemingly in deadlock between the airport's owner - the Scottish government - and interested buyer Orbital Access.
Prestwick was put up for sale in June, six years after it was brought under public ownership by the Scottish government, which saved the airport from closure at the time. The timeline for the sale indicated that a preferred bidder was meant to have been selected by the first week of September, with the deal sealed by early-October.
According to a report on the Transport Weekly news website, the Orbital Access and private equity interests bid has stalled as a result of the Scottish government's unwillingness to negotiate terms of the sale - primarily the GBP40 million pound (USD52 million) debt which is owed by the airport to the government. Orbital Access is developing a reusable rocket-powered spaceplane launched from beneath an MD-11 to put small objects into low earth orbits.
Scottish Transport Secretary Michael Matheson has stated he will develop fresh plans for Prestwick if a buyer cannot be found. Matheson said that efforts are focused on returning the airport to the private sector, but "should this not be achievable for any reason, we will consider options for taking the airport forward in the future".
Prestwick, which last year was Scotland's fifth busiest passenger facility behind Edinburgh, Glasgow International, Aberdeen Dyce and Inverness, is the country's third-busiest cargo airport, handling over 13,000 tonnes of freight (up 14% versus 2017 figures). The ch-aviation schedules module shows the airport has scheduled cargo services from Air France Cargo and Cargolux. On the passenger side of the business, the airport is served by Ryanair (FR, Dublin International), which currently offers services to Tenerife Sur, Malaga, Lanzarote, Faro and Alicante.
