The Scottish Government has welcomed plans for a third runway to be built at Heathrow Airport.

Proposals for the £18.6 billion infrastructure development were backed by the UK Government on Tuesday, 25 October.

Scottish Economy Secretary, Keith Brown, said the scheme would bring "significant benefits" to Scotland.

"Growing the number of direct international air routes to and from Scotland's own airports remains a top priority for this Government, but a third runway at Heathrow offers all our airports a range of benefits that will help them grow passenger numbers and continue to build on their successes," he said.

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"Expansion at Heathrow offers significant job creation, major investment opportunities and, crucially, seeks to address how all of Scotland's airports benefit from the new runway capacity when it is built and also in the lead-up period. We will now work with both Heathrow and the UK Government to ensure commitments made to Scotland are followed through."

It is expected the project would see up to 16,000 jobs created across Scotland, as well as £200 million of construction-related spend in the country.

In addition, potential plans are being put forward to create a new logistics hub at Glasgow Prestwick Airport to support the building of the third runway.

Mr Brown added: "It's now crucial that the UK Government starts work on this immediately and puts in place measures to secure guaranteed access to Heathrow for Scotland's airports. There can be no further costly delays if Scotland, and the UK as a whole, is to reap the rewards on offer."

(LM)