Scottish Greens launch campaign to oppose Inverness Airport expansion

The Scottish Greens have warned that the proposed expansion of Inverness Airport will push exacerbate the climate emergency: "It will be bad for the environment and bad for our communities."

Launching a new campaign to oppose the expansion, the Scottish Greens highlighted that the plan itself, published by Highland and Islands Airports Ltd, predicts a doubling of passenger numbers from around 0.8 million in 2018 to 1.8 million by 2045, increasing air traffic movements by around 50 per cent from 2015-2045.

The consultation on the plan will run until Sunday.

Scottish Greens lead candidate for the Highlands and Islands Ariane Burgess said: “If this proposal goes ahead it would be bad for the environment, and bad for our communities.

"It would be a totally inappropriate use of money during the climate emergency, and especially when we should be prioritising better bus and train services for the Highlands.

"Inverness Airport is more than adequate when it comes to providing necessary life-line services across the Highlands and Islands.

"As we build a recovery from COVID, instead of driving growth in air traffic we should be prioritising sustainable transport and giving people across the region the transport infrastructure that has so-often been promised but not delivered.

"It is vital that as many people as possible fill in this consultation and make clear that we do not want to see this damaging, expensive and totally unnecessary expansion.”

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