Downgrading of air traffic control at Wick could have 'serious implications' for local economy
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A PLAN to downgrade air traffic control at Wick John O'Groats Airport could have "serious implications" for the Caithness economy, according to a businessman who has years of experience in the industry.
Andy Bruce, who founded Far North Aviation, is concerned that plans by Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd (HIAL) to centralise air traffic control services at Inverness from the end of 2023 will have a detrimental effect on the airport at Wick.
He claims it will result in the air traffic controllers there being replaced by aerodrome flight information service officers – which he regards as a downgrading. At present, seven of the 11 airports operated by HIAL have air traffic controllers, with four already operating the system.
Mr Bruce, who is retired, says the changes would have "serious implications" for airlines operating daily scheduled flights and would "severely limit" the number of flights that could land at Wick.
"A flight information service does not permit scheduled passenger inbound aircraft to carry out an instrument approach, meaning that unless the weather conditions are good the aircraft would not be able to land at Wick," he said. "That would severely limit the number of flights that could land at the airport and that would affect the business community and leisure commuters."
Mr Bruce says the move would have an adverse impact on helicopters which use Wick as well as charter flights for staff from Dounreay and Vulcan.
He also maintains HIAL announced its plans before Loganair and Eastern Airways stopped their scheduled services to Edinburgh and Aberdeen respectively, and says the company made its decision without consulting airport users.
"The move could affect the future of scheduled and public transport services to the airport or the resumption of services after the coronavirus pandemic is over," he said.
"I don't believe HIAL will wait until 2023 to downgrade air traffic control at Wick."
A spokesman for HIAL said: "Wick John O’Groats is scheduled to transition to an Aerodrome Flight Information Service (AFIS) in December 2023 and will provide an appropriate level of air traffic service proportionate to the volume and complexity of air traffic movements. This is in line with industry norms for this type of airport and has been used successfully at four other HIAL airports for a number of years.
"The airport will retain a significant amount of the air traffic control systems and will have a new radar position provided at our new Combined Surveillance Centre (CSC) in Inverness for managing air traffic."
He added: "Our position is that air traffic can be handled safely and efficiently as an AFIS unit. There should be no reason why scheduled flights can’t operate in the same way they currently do. The new system is not meant to downgrade its capability."
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