THE Scottish Greens are renewing calls for the US to be banned from using Prestwick Airport after The National exclusively revealed its use spiked before the latest strikes on Iran.
Analysis of flight tracking data shows US military aircraft departed Glasgow Prestwick Airport at least eight times in the week leading up to Monday’s renewed strikes on Iran, which threaten a fragile ceasefire.
Multiple heavy‑duty cargo and transport planes departed the Scottish Government-owned airport between May 18 and May 25 – including the C‑17 Globemaster and Lockheed C-130T Hercules – and flew to key hubs that have been used to support the US‑led war on Iran, such as Naval Air Station Sigonella in Sicily.
This contrasts with the week before, where there were no identifiable US military departures from Prestwick.
Scottish Greens MSP Patrick Harvie said that despite pledges from John Swinney that he would look at banning the use of publicly owned airports for US war efforts, there has yet to be any action taken.
He said: “Donald Trump has shown contempt for Scottish and international law in recent times, particularly with his irresponsible and violent acts on the international stage.
“Kidnapping the Venezuelan president, aggression towards Greenland and Cuba, and his war in Iran, shows exactly why we should have nothing to do with this war-mongering White House regime.
“The First Minister has previously said he would look into banning the use of publicly owned Scottish infrastructure like Prestwick in the US war efforts, yet months later, there has been no action.
“It's time for the Scottish Government to act on this, kick the US troops out of Prestwick and ban them from coming back.”
The National found the recent spike in the use of Prestwick mirrors the build‑up ahead of February’s Operation Epic Fury, when the US and Israel launched major strikes on Iran, killing its then supreme leader, Ali Hosseini Khamenei.
An investigation by the Sunday National found that the US military used Prestwick at least 32 times in the 10 days before those strikes – including to key US and Nato military hubs in the Mediterranean and Middle East – which jumpstarted the war on Iran and has led to thousands of civilian deaths across the region.
At the time, a military intelligence expert said the Sunday National’s findings are “concrete proof” the airport has been used to help the US bomb Iran, albeit specifically as part of the broader supply chain underpinning operations.
Earlier this year, Swinney requested a meeting with UK ministers over the issue.
He later said the Scottish Government is not legally able to block US planes from using Prestwick Airport in its war against Iran because the necessary powers are reserved to Westminster.
