Major chain’s plan for 5am booze licence at airport left in tatters

A MAJOR chain inside a Scottish airport has had its bid for a 5am booze licence blocked by the local council.

The rejection comes amid the councillor’s fears that people would specifically travel to the airport just to have early drinks.

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A Starbucks inside Edinburgh Airport submitted its application to the licensing board yesterday.

The coffeehouse sits near the entrance of the busy airport and is open 24 hours.

It is currently only able to sell alcohol to travellers between 10am and midnight.

It had hoped to extend this and sought permission from the board to start sales at 5am.

But concerns were raised at a local council meeting about the possibility that the early license could provide a starting point for early-morning revellers.

According to Edinburgh Live, councillors were urged to “be real” over the suggestion that people would “go to the airport to have a drink in Starbucks”.

Board member Cllr David Key voted against the early license, saying: “There’s no reason why a pub should be open at five in the morning at Edinburgh Airport”.

He added: “Actually it could be the new thing to do – go for a morning out and start at the airport.”

However, Cllr Louise Young argued that it was “very unlikely” that people would travel to the airport for an early drink.

Cllr Norrie Work added: “Let’s be serious here and don’t embarrass ourselves.

“I really find it astounding that somebody would even suggest jumping on an airport bus to go to the airport to have a drink in Starbucks.

“I mean, come on, let’s be real here.”

Cllr Margaret Graham had the opposite opinion and argued that years ago when licensing of hotels was different to pubs she remembered people making a trip to hotels which served alcohol early.

After a vote, the board was tied 4-4 and Cllr Young used her casting vote to block the bid.

She explained that without the majority support, she wanted to “err on the side of caution”.

Alistair MacDonald, who submitted the application, slammed the board for how they handled the case and accused them of “not carrying out their legal obligation to permit me a chance to change my mind, to alter the application” if it was to be blocked.

The board decided to waive the requirement for Mr MacDonald to wait a minimum of a year before lodging another bid for a variation of licensing hours.

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