A north-east MSP has called for a cash boost from Scottish Government chiefs to boost passenger numbers at Aberdeen Airport in “difficult times”.
New figures have shown it lags behind all others in Scotland in terms of public funding.
Over the last five years, grant support from the Scottish Government for business development for Aberdeen Airport was just £5,500.
Other private airports in Scotland received more – with Glasgow getting £51,775 and Edinburgh £7,368.
Those figures are dwarfed by the massive level of public subsidy for the government-owned Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd (£130million) and loans to Prestwick Airport (£20million).
It has also emerged that Aberdeen received only a small fraction of the £46million total spend by the Scottish Government to support air travel over the five years.
Earlier this week it emerged the airport had suffered another month of disappointing passenger figures in July.
New statistics showed 293,136 people used the terminal last month, down 15.9% year-on-year.
The airport funding statistics were supplied in a Scottish Government answer to a parliamentary question from north-east MSP Liam Kerr.
Mr Kerr said he feared routes could be cut if action was not taken.
He said: “At a time when the north-east economy is struggling, these figures show the lack of support that Aberdeen receives in comparison to other Scottish airports.
“Where other airports have received enormous support, Aberdeen is clearly having to look at purely commercial ways to deliver its product and ensure that it remains an attractive, hub airport, encouraging businesses, tourists and others to continue to choose the north-east as a place to live and work.
“We know that passenger numbers through Aberdeen have dropped, at least in part, due to the downturn in oil and gas, and it is imperative that no routes are lost.
“The Scottish Government must do all it can to assist the airport at this difficult time.”
