Highland airport bosses urged to 'wake up and smell the coffee' over centralisation plans

North MP Jamie Stone has urged airport bosses in the Highlands and Islands to "wake up and smell the coffee" and rethink their controversial plans to centralise air traffic control services to Inverness.

Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL) has faced criticism over its Air Traffic Management Strategy (ATMS) amid fears that it will harm economically vulnerable areas and downgrade smaller airports such as Wick.

Mr Stone, the Liberal Democrat MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, spoke out in response to the Scottish Government’s 2021 technology assurance "health check" review of the air traffic programme. It identifies "major risks or issues" in key areas.

Calling on HIAL to scrap the strategy, Mr Stone said: "Following HIAL’s own impact assessment which showed the centralisation plans would be a disaster for the Highlands, this report from Digital Scotland should really force them to wake up and smell the coffee – a U-turn is in order.

"The project is expensive, it’s plagued with a history of blunders from Scottish ministers and HIAL board members, and it goes against the wishes and interests of the local community whom they are supposed to serve. It has to take the recommendations of this report seriously and change tack.”

The Digital Scotland report states: "The review team finds that successful delivery of the project/programme is in doubt with major risks or issues apparent in a number of key areas. Urgent action is needed to ensure these are addressed."

It highlights:

• Lack of clear, coherent visibility and transparency across the programme and down to the constituent projects.
• Significant shortfalls in programme management including risk management, planning and resource.
• Misalignment of governance with the needs of the programme combined with a lack of clarity regarding roles, responsibilities, delegations, approvals and decision-making.
• The level of resourcing and skills and capabilities are currently well below what would be required for a programme of this size, complexity and criticality

HIAL chief operating officer Gary Cobb said: “The ATMS programme is required to observe the Technology Assurance Framework, administered by the Scottish Government’s Digital Assurance Office [DAO], which includes assurance of major projects during their lifetime. Therefore, an independent review team undertook a health check review on the ATMS programme on behalf of the DAO.

“The review team, which is independent of the ATMS programme and accredited by the Infrastructure and Projects Authority, made recommendations relating to programme management, governance, resourcing, procurement and strategic oversight and assurance. We welcomed and agreed the recommendations and immediately actioned them.

“Ten of the 12 recommendations identified in the review have been actioned with good progress on the outstanding recommendations. We will continue to work with the DAO for the duration of the ATMS project, and the date for the next review is currently being scheduled.

“As an organisation, we are focused on applying learning and embracing best practice and external governance and oversight will be a feature of the ATMS programme as it progresses.”

Mr Stone has previously accused HIAL of being "dead set on undermining the future of Wick John O'Groats Airport".

Wick was left without scheduled flights after the loss of the Edinburgh and Aberdeen routes last year and there have been long-running concerns over the economic consequences of ATMS for Caithness and north Sutherland.

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