Emergency summit to save AST facility

Calls after no suitable offer is made for the business

- ALASTAIR MCNEILL

A call was made this week for an emergency summit to save jobs and courses at Perth's Air Service Training (AST) facility.

It comes as the administrator, appointed early April, said no suitable offer had been made for the business - despite interest from 51 parties.

Assets are to be sold and it is understood staff have been laid off.

The wholly-owned subsidiary of UHI Perth based at the city's airport employed 28 people and had trained 190,000 engineers and pilots from around 150 countries since it was set up in 1931.

When AST courses ceased immediately last month-with the exception of the BSc in Aircraft Maintenance Engineering and Management programme set to continue until the end of the academic year-the situation was described as devastating by Perth MP Pete Wishart.

Last week, UHI Perth principal and chief executive Dr Margaret Cook resigned amid what was said to be "an extremely challenging financial landscape."