Introducing…Glasgow Airport's Got Talent

• The departures lounge at Glasgow Airport could be the spot for the Airplay contest celebrating the area's talent. Picture: PA

Well fear not, for Glasgow Airport bosses have come up with a new way to keep passengers entertained as they while away those interminable hours before take-off.

Customers are to be entertained by budding music stars of the future in an X Factor-style contest, highlighting the city's status as a Unesco City of Music.

Performers are being invited to showcase their work to summer travellers using the terminal, competing for 1,000.

Unsigned acts from across the musical spectrum are eligible to enter the Airplay competition, with performances set to start next month. The airport said it was seeking to tap into the west of Scotland's rich musical vein, which has produced talent such as Paolo Nutini, Travis, Aztec Camera and Texas.

The contest was inspired by another airport's talent show, the Gatwick Factor, which was staged in December to raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital in London.

It has yet to be decided where the performances will be held, but options include the international departures lounge and the domestic arrivals area.

Airport officials said the aim was to entertain passengers during the busy summer months.

However, they are mindful of the potential for performers to have the opposite effect, and plan to limit music to acoustic instruments and vocals.

A spokesman said: "There won't be raucous music – we don't want to put people off."

Managing director Amanda McMillan said: "Glasgow has been recognised as a Unesco City of Music because of the important contribution the city has made to the music industry. It seems fitting we should launch this search for stars of the future at the city's gateway airport."

Glasgow Unesco City of Music director Louise Mitchell welcomed the "inspiring and imaginative" contest.

It also received a positive reaction from travellers. Graeme Lindsay, a regular user of the airport, said: "Anything that makes waiting in the terminal more entertaining gets my vote. They can be tedious, but music can soothe the soul and make time fly by."

Susan Black, from Glasgow, said: "That sounds great. Anything to stop you spending exorbitant amounts of money in the shops and bars. It's good to give up-and-comers a chance to play in front of a real crowd – and a pretty captive audience at that."

Experts said the move would also be appreciated by staff. Professor Greg Bamber, of Monash University in Australia, said: "Live music is not a substitute for good pay and working conditions, but it has potential to provide a little cheer for workers."

But can they beat this?

ONE pop classic inspired by air travel was Airport by the Motors. The 1978 hit went like this:

So many destinations/ Faces going to so many places/ For the weather is so much better/ And the food is so much cheaper/ Well I help her with her baggage/ But her baggage is so heavy/ I hear the plane is ready by the gateway/ To take my love away.

And I can't believe/ That she really wants to leave me/ And it's getting me so/ It's getting me so.

Airport, airport/ You've got a smiling face/ You took the one I love so far away/ Flying away, flying away/ Airport, airport/ You've got a smiling face/ You took my lady to another place/ Flying away, flying away.