Princess Anne visits Ayrshire

Feb 12 2010 by Lisa Boyle, Ayrshire Post (main ed)

LITTLE Sophie Lafferty paid a tear-jerking tribute to her daddy as she played a special role in the opening of the new air traffic control centre.

The nine-year-old presented the Princess Royal with a bouquet of flowers – and showed off her perfected curtsy.

Sophie’s dad Laurence died from cancer weeks before the new Prestwick centre was up and running.

Laurence worked for NATS for 20 years as a professional and popular air traffic controller.

So when it came to meeting the princess, bosses at the new state-of-the-art centre could think of no-one better than brave Sophie.

Unfazed by the honour, the Alloway primary five pupil dusted off her favourite party frock and stood proud among her dad’s friends and colleagues last Friday.

Laurence’s wife Angela said: “It’s been a very emotional day and we were very touched to be asked along.

“It was a tribute to Laurence that they thought so well of him to ask Sophie to be here.”

After meeting the princess, Sophie said: “I was looking forward to it at first but then I got really nervous.

“I realised it was going to be nerve-wracking but then it was really exciting.

“She asked me what my name was and asked if I got a day off school – and then she said ‘that’s good’, because I have.

“I’ll be back at school on Monday to tell my friends all about it. Most of them are excited for me, but I think some of them are quite jealous.”

The Princess Royal was given a tour of the multi-million pound centre before unveiling a plaque.

But Pauline Lamb, the general manager at Prestwick, says the team won’t be able to stand still now that the formalities are over.

She explained: “It all went absolutely swimmingly today. Princess Anne was great. She was genuinely interested – every single person she met she said something relevant to. It was a pleasure to have her here.

“But I won’t be breathing a sigh of relief. This is just a step in our future. We move straight on to improving on the technology we’ve got.

“Our aim is to keep the skies as safe as possible. What we’ve got now is a great foundation to build on.

“Technology is ever changing and so we are ever changing.”