Exclusive:Senior SNP minister wants more direct international flights from Scotland - including to China
Angus Robertson spoke of the important of ‘growing direct routes’ to countries such as China
A senior SNP minister has called for more direct flights between Scottish airports and international destinations, including China.
Angus Robertson said the number of Chinese students attending Scottish universities made connections to the country "really important". The External Affairs Secretary visited several Chinese cities in November 2023 to promote business and tourism.
The trip attracted controversy at the time. Former SNP MP Stewart McDonald raised concerns about China’s human rights record and the security threat it poses to the UK.
READ MORE: Scotland should not get too cosy with Communist China as others ‘de-risk’ – Stewart McDonald
Speaking to The Scotsman, Mr Robertson said: "My most recent engagement on direct routes and tourism-related discussions was when I visited China, and growing direct routes from there to here.
"And that matters, yes, because of the potential for tourism. But it's also really important given how many Chinese students now attend Scottish universities.”
Mr Robertson added: "I would love to see people being able to fly directly from Scottish airports to international locations, rather than having to fly through elsewhere - fly through London, fly through Frankfurt, fly through Amsterdam.
"It just makes the opportunities for growing tourism, but also economic opportunity, much more tangible and easier for people, because if there is a direct flight, then it just opens things up a lot more.
"We've seen more of that in North America, both from the United States and Canada, and in recent years there has been significant growth in flights to the Middle East."
Glasgow Airport signed an agreement with the Shanghai Airport Authority over the summer with the aim of exploring direct flights between the two cities.
Elsewhere, American Airlines launched a service between Edinburgh and Philadelphia this summer, and Air Canada also launched a new route to Montréal.
The annual report of the Scottish Government’s international strategy, which was published this week, stresses the importance of new aviation routes to the economy.
It says officials have met with a number of airlines, including JetBlue, United, Hainan and Emirates, “to discuss future opportunities and promote Scotland as a market that can sustain more direct connectivity”.
The document adds: “Partnership and stakeholder collaborations on territory aimed at driving up demand for existing and future direct air services has included Scotland Week, as well as trade missions to both China and Australia, and brought delegations of key tour operators on familiarisation trips to Scotland from new markets including India.”
There were 17,565 Chinese students at Scottish universities last year, the largest of any overseas group. In recent years, there have been concerns that institutions are now too financially reliant on their fees.
Critics have also pointed to China’s human rights record. In 2023, Mr McDonald, the former SNP MP for Glasgow South, said he was “dismayed” by the "character and tone" of Mr Robertson’s trip to Beijing, Kunming and Shanghai.
"China is no ordinary trading partner,” he told the BBC. “It has violently cracked down on democracy and the rule of law in Hong Kong, is carrying out a genocide against Uighur Muslims, is increasingly threatening the people of Taiwan."
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