RAF Kinloss marks end of flight operations

Flying operations at RAF Kinloss ended yesterday as part of a five-phase winding down of the base announced by the UK government last year.

It marked the end of 72 years of service by the station in Forres, Morayshire.

The base's fate was sealed last October when Prime Minister David Cameron confirmed the cancellation of replacement Nimrod aircraft that had been bound for Kinloss.

Earlier this month, Defence Secretary Liam Fox announced that RAF Kinloss and RAF Leuchars, in Fife, will become army bases, as part of his "long term strategy".

RAF Lossiemouth, in nearby Moray, will be Scotland's last air base.

Kinloss will close as an RAF station on March 31 2013, with the handover to Defence Estates to be completed by the end of March 2014.

Gross income from RAF Kinloss and RAF Lossiemouth combined is estimated at about 158 million a year, and RAF households are thought to account for 7 per cent of the area's population.

The bases collectively support about 5,700 jobs in the Moray economy, around 16 per cent of employment in the region.