You’re welcome to Scotland’s unwelcoming landing party - Susan Dalgety
Many years ago, when I worked for the Scottish Government, I was part of a team that developed a campaign to encourage people to live and work in as well as visit Scotland.
One of the key elements was a series of billboard posters placed at key “points of entry”, in other words, airports. We wanted people to get a good impression of our beautiful country as soon as they arrived.
Today, when a visitor from overseas lands at Edinburgh airport they are more likely to be faced with chaos, filthy chaos at that. Last week, Francesca Osowska, head of the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), was so fed up with the Capital’s airport that she took to social media to express her frustration.
On arriving home from Portugal she tweeted sarcastically, “Another top class performance by @EDI_Airport. Arrivals hall is filthy, toilets dirty & despite the Porto flight arriving before the Dubai flight, guess which bags were delivered first? Another one hour + wait for bags.”
She ended her rant with the question, “Where Scotland meets the world. What must the world think?”
Her outburst was met with a chorus of agreement. “A national embarrassment” said one. “Filthy, industrial, uninviting, soul-less, chaotic, impersonal,” said another. And a third summed up the problem when he said, “We’re so behind the rest of world when it comes to a ‘welcome’”.
No doubt Ms Osowska is now embarrassed by the attention her social media post attracted, and Edinburgh Airport did not mince its words in its public response to her.
A spokesman said: “…as with any business or organisation — including ones in the public sector like the Scottish Funding Council — we know we won’t always get it right…The complex nature and range of partners involved in airport operations are often misunderstood.”
Around 16 million people are expected to pass through Edinburgh airport this year and during the peak summer months there will be 60,000 a day. Things are bound to go wrong occasionally, but Francesca Osowska is right to highlight the terminal’s shortcomings.
Compared to many European airports, Edinburgh is a bit of a mess. Despite a recent extension, it still seems far too small for the number of passengers. Visitors deserve a better welcome.