London Mayor Boris Johnson’s vision for a new airport hub serving the UK capital could provide more than 1,000 jobs and an economic boost worth tens of millions of pounds to Dundee, it has been claimed.
A Transport for London (TfL) report has named Dundee as one of eight potential new air connections to be established if the new four-runway airport was ever built.
The study claims that the new direct air link would deliver a £139 million economic boost to the city on an annual basis by 2050 and would support 1,180 jobs in the wider regional economy.
The document envisages six flights a day from the city, with more than 370,000 passengers being carried on the route each year.
The aircraft used on the route would be able to carry up to 100 passengers, almost treble the capacity of the current Flybe flights to London Stansted.
Inverness is the other new direct Scottish connection suggested in the report, while there would also be a beefing up of current London flights to and from Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh.
The TfL report is the latest salvo in a long-running dispute over how London’s air capacity should be developed with the addition of a new third runway at Heathrow being the other main contender.
The study says that Dundee would not benefit from expansion at Heathrow as the city would be squeezed out by airlines looking for slots for more profitable routes.
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