Letter: No flight of fancy

With regard to the planned expansion of Aberdeen airport (your report, 30 November), we see flag waving and cheering from the usual suspects, including Aberdeen City and Shire Economic Future (Acsef), which claims "transport and connectivity are key to achieving economic growth and enhancing the quality of life in the region"

For starters, I think most people would be happy with just economic stability. As for enhancing the quality of life in the region, try convincing people living under the flight path that their quality of life shall be enhanced by a runway extension.

Strangely, we also keep hearing that our government is committed to meeting greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. How can be achieved by airport expansions that are built to accommodate more flights?

Also, we already have a tourist deficit in this country, with more money spent by people flying abroad than is spent by tourists visiting this country. Airport expansions only exacerbate the situation. We should not listen to groups such as Acsef that look at this with purely corporate interests in mind.

ROBERT T SMITH

Braeside Terrace

Aberdeen