FEDEX PULLS PRESTWICK FLIGHTS
In another bizarre turn of events surrounding U.S.-U.K. aviation relations, Federal Express has halted transatlantic freighter service to Prestwick airport in Scotland.
FedEx is pulling the service just months after U.K. authorities granted the carrier onward route rights to Europe from Prestwick in order to persuade the carrier to keep a sorting operation there. The Prestwick area is home to a number of high-tech companies that depend on regular air cargo service.
Announcing the move, FedEx said it was disappointed at the failure of U.S. and U.K. negotiators to come to an aviation market liberalization pact last week. A FedEx official said the U.K. government is bowing to special interests and ignoring the broader economic benefits of freer air markets.
Industry reports say British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways last week pressured the U.K. government not to give U.S. airlines greater access to London’s Heathrow airport, scuttling an agreement. The Heathrow issue has bogged down U.S.-U.K. air negotiations since American Airlines and British Airways announced their plans to form an alliance three years ago.