Within days of confirmation of tax breaks for businesses locating at Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland (AMIDS), next to Glasgow Airport, further public funding was announced and a new private aviation terminal unveiled.

On 14th March 2026 the UK and Scottish governments confirmed that new tax incentives had been made avaialble to businesses locating at Glasgow Airport and the neighbouring Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland (AMIDS) site. Eligible businesses can access up to £25 million in tax breaks on Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT), Non-Domestic Rates (NDR), enhanced capital allowance, enhanced structures and buildings allowance and National Insurance (NI) contributions. The 52-hectare Netherton development site, offering plots for leasehold, is described as the ‘heart’ of AMIDS. Overall, the new tax site spans more than 112 hectares and in addition to Glasgow Airport and AMIDS includes sites neighbouring the airport in Abbotsinch, Airside North and Campsie Drive. The tax relief scheme is part of the Glasgow City Region Investment Zone which, over ten years, has received more than £190 million in funding from the UK and Scottish governments. Kam Jandu, CEO of AGS Airports Ltd., owner and operator of Glasgow Airport, said, “Securing tax site status as part of the Glasgow City Region Investment Zone is a hugely significant moment for Glasgow Airport and the wider region. It accelerates our ambition to develop a Glasgow AirportCity – a hub of precision engineering and advanced manufacturing with significant apprenticeship and upskilling programmes forecast to help create 2,300 skilled jobs and £205 million in annual GVA [Gross Added Value]’.

Very few jobs are evident in the AMIDS promotional interactive map; it is almost devoid of people. The NMIS is packed with machinery and has a striking purple and glass facade, but the lobby, seats, desks, meeting spaces and benches in expansive outdoor spaces are almost empty. A few people stand alone wearing VR headsets. There is nobody in the Digital Factory video. Only one of four images of CPI Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre (MMIC) labs shows someone working in it. The Overview Brochure ‘Connectivity’ page highlights AMID’s adjacency to Glasgow Airport with 30 airlines serving 120 destinations worldwide, this dependency on fossil-fuel intensive air transport contradicting a commitment to ‘net zero’ carbon emissions. Convenient local transportation links to the natural beauty of Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park, the vibrant Glasgow City centre are promoted, for leisure purposes. But the purported ‘dynamic ecosystem’ of AMIDS site is all about global connections and a select group of firms, institutions and authorities. AMIDS is a cosseted cluster, bestowed with subsidies and other support unavailable to businesses outside its boundaries. The publicity is a swirl of hype – ‘world class’, ‘world leading’, ‘cutting edge’, ‘world leading research’, ‘pioneering breakthroughs that shape and meet challenges of the future’, staffed by ‘forward thinking minds’, ‘big thinkers’ and ‘can-doers’. There is no sign of humility in this techno-optimists’ paradise.

Tax breaks for AMIDS come in addition to allocation of large amounts of public funds. Infrastructure including key roads and bridges was supported by £39 million in City Deal infrastructure funding. Two manufacturing centres located on the AMIDS site received substantial funds from the Scottish government: £48 million for the National Manufacturing Institute for Scotland (NMIS) and £8.9 million for the Lightweight Manufacturing Centre. News of another tranche of government funding for AMIDS emerged only three days after the tax reliefs announcement. Scottish Enterprise, Scotland’s national economic development agency, approved a £4.74 million package for a development at AMIDS called Tech Terrace which aims to ‘establish a world-class, high-value manufacturing cluster within a campus environment, where innovative organisations can work together to pioneer breakthroughs and meet challenges of the future’. The Scottish Enterprise Funding will be matched by AMIDS joint venture partners Renfrewshire Council (indicating allocation of further public funds for the project) and Buccleuch Property.

Just two days after the AMIDS tax reliefs announcement a new facility at Glasgow Airport specifically serving a wealthy minority was unveiled. On 16th March 2026, Signature Aviation, the world’s largest network of private aviation terminals, held a ‘grand opening celebration’ for a new private aviation terminal. Glasgow Airport’s 433 square metre private terminal has an expansive passenger lounge, VIP lounge, large meeting room, dedicated screening room and showers. Signature Aviation CEO Tony Lefebvre said the opening of the new terminal reflected ‘our commitment to delivering a truly elevated, hospitality-driven experience for our guests” and that development of facilities around the world is “focused on creating thoughtfully designed spaces that support the operational needs of our guests with the comfort, privacy and seamless service that Signature is known for.” The new private terminal is just 300 metres from the AMIDS Netherton development site boundary and located amidst other Glasgow City Region Investment Zone tax sites as shown in this UK Government map.