Calls for regional funding to help save aviation courses

Tay Cities regional funding cash could be used to save Perth aviation training courses dropped when the Perth’s Air Service Training (AST) went into administration earlier this month.

- ALASTAIR MCNEILL

First Minister and Perthshire North MSP John Swinney has written to the chair of the joint committee overseeing the Tay Cities Deal to explore the possibility of any unused funding being allocated to AST.

Perthshire Conservative Murdo Fraser had suggested in a letter to Mr Swinney that £8.1m earmarked for a Perth College Aviation Academy for Scotland (AAS) plan could help to restore the cancelled courses.

Following the administration announcement, Mr Swinney said he would work with all stakeholders in an attempt to find a way forward - and the Scottish Government said this week work is under way to identify longer-term options for existing students to complete qualifications with alternative course providers.

AST, which employs 28 people, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of UHI Perth. The college has provided funding to ensure the BSc in Aircraft Maintenance Engineering and Management continues until the end of the academic year, but all other courses have ceased.

AST was set up in 1931 and has since trained 190,000 engineers and pilots from around 150 countries.

In a 2020 announcement, it had been due to receive investment from the £300m Tay Cities Deal, funded by the UK and Scottish governments, to establish a national aviation academy.