Air Traffic Control visit Prestwick

Ayr Rotary members were treated to a tour of Air Traffic Control by Manager Alan Frew, who was RAF Officer and Detachment Commander (retired) at Leuchars, Fife.

The airport is a cargo base and hosts significant numbers of military flights and refuelling stops from North America, along with domestic and international commercial flights

Prestwick Airport has signed an agreement with Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport aimed at supporting stronger trade ties between China and the UK.

The Ayrshire airport declared that the memorandum of understanding, signed during the International Air Transport Association (IATA) North Asia Cargo Day in the Chinese city of Guangzhou,

follows a year in which Prestwick has expanded its role as a UK gateway for Asian e-commerce and high-value exports, such as Scottish salmon and whisky.

Alan demonstrated on screen plotting of aircraft flying over northern UK air space with one passenger plane at an amazing altitude of 42000 feet. His dedicated team oversee and plot hundreds of flights annually in particular of late HM King Charles and President Trump who held a press conference on Airforce 1 after landing, causing, headaches for security and the precise far reaching lockdown airspace demanded.

Overall, in the last 18 months the Airport has reinvested £10m in the airfield, ground services equipment and security to support its ambitious growth plans.

Three years ago, the airport’s board set out a growth strategy focused on customer growth as the driver for change. Since then, it has sought to build on its market strengths, utilising the Airport’s existing assets to support not only core passenger services, but also to capture a larger share of the cargo freighter market, in which the Airport has significant expertise and experience of handling.

Commenting on the latest results and the future outlook, Alan said cargo volumes are set to treble in 2026 with the Airport currently handling 21 wide bodied freighters a week and more than 3,800 tonnes of cargo a month. This has created more than 150 new jobs at the Airport, generating new training opportunities and boosting growth for Ayrshire and the wider Scottish economy.

President Elect, Mary Helen Shakespeare, thanked Alan and his team for such an informative and enjoyable visit.