Prestwick Airport used a stopover in snow chaos

Feb 6 2009 by Lisa Boyle

SOUTH AYRSHIRE was fully booked on Monday night when hundreds of passengers were diverted to Prestwick Airport.

The flights, which were bound for Heathrow airport, were forced to land at Prestwick because of the weather conditions in London.

And although it also snowed in South Ayrshire, Prestwick Airport was one of the few airports in the UK which managed to fully function throughout the day.

Every hotel in Ayr and Prestwick was booked solid with passengers who had to stay overnight.

Ayr Racecourse opened up the Ayrshire Suite to accommodate those awaiting hotel allocation.

The travel chaos saw struggling Prestwick Airport rise to the challenge and cope well with the hundreds of extra passengers who passed through its gates.

British Airways flights which came from San Francisco, New York, Beijing, Tokyo, Cape Town and Cairo were all forced to land at Prestwick.

A Ryanair flight from Berlin bound for Edinburgh was also diverted to Prestwick.

A US airforce flight heading for its base in London also had to park up overnight in Ayrshire.

Airport Chief executive Mark Rodwell commended airport staff who coped remarkably with the unexpected flights.

He said: “This is an airport with an excellent weather record and plenty of space for aircraft to park so we are delighted that we could accommodate the diverted flights.

“We mobilised all available employees to ensure we could handle hundreds of additional inbound passengers and make suitable arrangements for them.

“Our employees have handled large volumes of aircraft and passengers in the past for major events and they made a fantastic effort again on Monday. By the end of the day an additional 1500 passengers had arrived at Prestwick.”

And John Scott MSP said the weather problems in London brought a welcome boost to the Ayrshire economy.

Mr Scott said: “While obviously I have the greatest sympathy for the people who have been diverted, I am sure others in Ayrshire are delighted to welcome the unexpected guests.

“They will provide a boost to the local hoteliers and the diversions will be a boost to Prestwick airport.

“I hope these people enjoy their time in this snow free area and that they will come back again.

“This demonstrates that Prestwick Airport is of national strategic importance in terms of UK air infrastructure.

“We usually have a fog, ice and snow free zone. The airport was built here in 1935 for these characteristics.”

Geoff Green, Ayr racecourse general manager, said: “Around 800 passengers arrived at the racecourse on Monday afternoon. We gave them hot drinks and food.

“Some were able to stay overnight in the Western House Hotel while others headed to hotels in Glasgow.

“We utilised the Ayrshire suite, which can cater for 1000 people. The last passengers left at around 7.30pm.”

All passengers were back on board their flights and Heathrow bound by 3pm on Tuesday.