Is it pure dead . . . or is there life in Prestwick?

It’s famous for having the longest runway in Scotland tarmac which graced the mighty boots of Elvis Presley on his only UK visit.

It’s also infamous for re-branding itself with the embarrassing slogan “Pure Dead Brilliant”. And the Scottish Government this week decided that the future of Prestwick Airport lay in the hands of public ownership.

It was a bold and commendable move, but one that some critics have labelled a flight of fancy and one, if Elvis were alive today, might have had him singing Return To Tender!

The Government, though, are no fools. They do actually have some form here, given that they already run 11 of our regional airports and can look at the successful take over of Cardiff Airport by the Welsh Government for figures.

As our Deputy Head-Honcho Nicola Sturgeon pointed out, the only alternative to intervention was closure, and that would have been catastrophic.

With a referendum around the corner that would not have sat well with the electorate.

However, the list of difficult challenges that lie ahead for the Government in securing the future of Prestwick’s 1400 employees and returning it to profit is as long as its runway.

There’s a huge difference between running a soggy beach approach in Barra to taking on an operation the size of Prestwick.

In recent years the loss of passengers to better equipped and easier accessed airports in both Glasgow and Edinburgh has been dramatic from a peak in 2007 of 2,400,000 to just over 1 million.

The fact the only commercial airline to use the airport is notorious budget carrier Ryanair might be reason enough for many to close the place.

But credit where it’s due, here at least Ryanair are doing something commendable by keeping jobs in place.

However, the current annual losses of more than £2 million would frighten any would-be investor and have those currently in the control tower reaching for the plug.

So if we’re to nationalise Prestwick then let’s not make the same mistakes that have been made in the past with other nationalised industries Linwood, just up the M77, being the classic example.

It was a working town with a once great car industry, but was propped up by successive governments in a futile effort to keep the work force and trade unions happy. It was then left to rot under the merciless hand of Thatcher.

So if Prestwick is to be propped up with taxpayers’ cash no stone must be left unturned or disregarded.

Marketing must be targeted with precision and transport links must be improved. The arrival and departure lounges have to be world class and the staff have to make doubly sure they are congenial, attentive and welcoming.

And of course inventive incentives must be introduced to entice the national air carriers and cargo operators back in to fill its empty stands.

Only if this is done can Prestwick once again become fit for kings rock or royalty.

If not then a mayday call will be too late and instead of pure dead brilliant, Prestwick and the surrounding area will just become pure dead!