Loganair says island flights strategy 'urgently' needed

Loganair says the Scottish and UK governments should "urgently" produce a strategy for essential routes that are not commercially viable, after cuts to two island routes.

The regional airline has "temporarily reduced" flights from Inverness to the Western Isles as well as making cuts to the Inverness to Orkney and Shetland flight because of financial concerns.

It described the move as a "last resort" but stressed that the Inverness-Stornoway and Inverness-Kirkwall-Sumburgh routes had been losing money.

Transport Scotland has urged Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (Hial) and Loganair to "work collaboratively" on a solution.

The UK government said it was trying to improve air links across the country.

Daily flights between Inverness, Orkney and Shetland have been reduced to a weekend-only service.

In addition, the regular morning flight between Inverness and Stornoway, which also returns before midday, has been withdrawn.

Loganair said the flights would be reinstated from the end of October if a funding gap was resolved with government-owned Hial.

Hial previously said it had offered a support package but stressed that help must be affordable.

A spokesperson said negotiations were ongoing.

Many in Scotland's island communities are concerned about the impact of shrinking air travel to the mainland.

Gordon Jamieson, chief executive of NHS Western Isles, called the change a "significant deterioration".

He said 90% of patients travelling to Inverness for healthcare used the morning flight.

"Any interruption completely removes their ability to get off island and back in a day," he said.

Loganair continues to run a regular afternoon flight between Inverness and Stornoway.

Jamieson said the change would affect about 1,100 appointments over the next three-and-a-half months.

He described the morning flight as "mission critical" for patients and clinical staff delivering healthcare.

Jamieson said the health board would "work around" the change but warned of "significant additional costs".

NHS Western Isles said it would put about £100,000 of investment into supporting patients with travel.

The health board added that it was looking into evening clinics and asking visiting clinicians to stay longer.

Terry McCaffrey, who runs a bed and breakfast on the west coast of Shetland, said visitors travelled from Inverness.

He said: "A lot of them stay here. I would have thought Loganair would be expanding traffic to and from Shetland, and onto further destinations.

"Sometimes it's not easy to get a flight. That's why I can't get to grips with why they're reducing.

"The boat to Aberdeen's not suitable for everybody," he said.

Loganair also runs regular flights from Sumburgh Airport in Shetland to Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Glasgow.

Simon McNamara, Loganair's head of government and corporate affairs, said the company was operating in a challenging time.

He said: "The conflict in the Middle East escalated fuel prices. That flowed through to an industry-wide softening of demand."

McNamara said Norway offered a potential model.

"They have a whole number of essential air service routes that need to be flown for communities," he said.

"The government works alongside a private operator to support them in a structured way."

The regional airline said Scotland was missing a long-term strategy.

McNamara said this could involve direct subsidy to "bridge a gap" or exemptions from some taxes and charges.

Loganair benefits from the public service obligation (PSO) framework on some Western Isles services.

PSOs help to protect a minimum level of service and can include subsidy to support operating costs.

The regional airline said the "vast majority" of its network was unsupported.

Councillor Moraig Lyall, chair of Shetland Islands Council's transport committee, said the far north had a web of connections to the mainland: "Every time one of those is impacted, it has a knock-on effect.

"In particular, more people opting to use the boat to Aberdeen, which is already overstretched."

Councillor Lyall said Shetland cannot be "at the mercy" of a private company and backed calls for a government strategy to ensure flights continued.

The SNP's Hannah Mary Goodlad, Shetland's MSP and the public finance minister, said she would like to see the creation of an integrated Highlands and islands air network.

Goodlad is working on the initiative alongside Kristopher Leask, a Green MSP for the Highlands and islands region.

The pair said they were working with regional transport bodies to "map out the first steps" towards a plan for improved connectivity.

Transport Scotland said the government wanted Hial and Loganair to "work collaboratively" to ensure that the services could be sustained.

A spokesperson added: "These discussions are ongoing and we urge both parties to continue dialogue in order to find a commercial solution."

Hial, which manages and operates 11 regional airports, said: "We remain committed to supporting these routes and working with Loganair to provide the best possible outcome for the island communities they serve."

The department for transport said it was working with Loganair and industry partners "to improve air links across the country".