THE airport that was bailed out with a £1 Scottish Government buyout is costing taxpayers £750,000 a month and is now over £21m in debt.

The latest Scottish Government accounts show Prestwick received £21.3m from Holyrood up to March 31, up 24 per cent increase on the figure of £17m revealed in August.

Prestwick Airport is being run on a commercial basis by an arms-length organisation, TS Prestwick Holdco.

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Government agency Transport Scotland said investment in the airport was planned to be in the form of loan funding and it is a commercial venture.

Prestwick is one of several possible locations for the UK's first spaceport.

A Transport Scotland spokesman Ryanair is increasing passenger numbers in summer next year compared to this year with one new route and more capacity on existing routes.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: "A report from Audit Scotland confirmed that we are highly likely to generate a return on our investment that is higher than the current rate of interest we are charging the airport.

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“We want Glasgow Prestwick Airport to grow into the successful and vibrant business we know it can be, but have always acknowledged that there is no quick fix.

"However, there are a number of opportunities for the airport’s management team to build on, including increasing freight and passenger traffic, fixed base operations and it is very well placed to provide world class facilities for the UK Spaceport program.”

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Alex Johnstone, Scottish Tory transport spokesman, said "the longer this goes on, and the more it costs, the more taxpayers will become fed up".