It was extremely heartening to learn on Monday that Prestwick Airport had achieved a fifth consecutive year of profit.

You would imagine this news might have come as a surprise to many, given the airport’s ownership by the Scottish Government has attracted detractors, many of them politically motivated, in droves.

Such carping can be corrosive, so it is great to see that Prestwick Airport has managed to achieve what is now quite a long period of constant profitability in spite of the moaners and the negative air created by them.

It has always been most dispiriting to hear some people argue that Prestwick Airport does not or should not have a future, and claim that the Scottish Government was somehow throwing good money after bad with its rescue of this strategic asset and subsequent funding of it. The Scottish Government rescued the airport in 2013 and advanced it £43.4 million of loans.

Of course, the airport has had major challenges, and some of these have not disappeared.

However, it is an absolutely key strategic asset.

Moreover, it is very important to the Ayrshire economy. And it supports an enormously valuable aerospace cluster around it employing thousands of people.

The airport has had to be innovative, with its passenger operation a shadow of its former self, and it this week celebrated its diverse income streams as it announced its financial results.

It is notable the detractors seem to have piped down somewhat as one year of profit has followed another at Prestwick.

The airport, known officially as Glasgow Prestwick Airport, on Monday announced a £3.2m operating profit for the year to March 31.

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It described this as “a significant achievement that reflects the strength and resilience” of its “diverse business model”.

This seems like an........

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