Jamie Stone welcomes airport centralisation U-turn
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Local MP Jamie Stone, has welcomed confirmation that plans for Hial’s proposed centralisation of air traffic control have been scrapped.
The original proposals also included the downgrading of Wick airport from an Air Traffic Control Service to a Flight Information Service, however Hial has confirmed today (Friday) that the service at the local airport will be part of future discussions.
A Hial spokesperson said: "We have agreed with Prospect that further separate talks will take place on air traffic services for Wick John O’Groats airport and how best to provide a proportionate level of service."
In response to parliamentary questions lodged by Liberal Democrat MSP for Orkney, Liam McArthur, the Transport Minister, Graeme Dey confirmed that Hial has contacted companies involved in the remote tower procurement “to confirm that the tender exercise had been cancelled”.
The minister admitted that millions of pounds have been spent on Hial's Air Traffic Management Strategy (ATMS), since it was launched in January 2018. ATMS included plans which would have seen air traffic controllers removed from airports across the Highlands and Islands region to be replaced with a single tower based in Inverness.
Hial’s own assessments of the plans suggested many "negative" and "significantly negative" impacts on rural and remote communities, notably the loss of "high quality employment" and salaries from the local economy. A Digital Scotland report also rated the plans as "amber-red" due to concerns over the deliverability of necessary infrastructure.
"This is a welcome U-turn by the Scottish Government, but one that has come at phenomenal expense, stated Mr Stone, the Liberal Democrat MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross. "Millions of pounds in public funds have been spent on a centralisation project that was flawed from the beginning.
"Scottish Ministers could have used this money to restart flights at Wick airport, but instead all we have been left with is a big bill for the taxpayer, with nothing to show for it.
"There is a need to bring our air traffic control practices up to modern international standards, but this must not be at the expense of Highlands and Islands communities."
When north MSP Rhoda Grant spoke out against the centralisation plan last November she stated it was "a shambles of monumental proportions" and would have an adverse impact on Wick airport.
Although the tender exercise for the controversial remote tower technology has been cancelled for the time being, plans to base remote air traffic control for Inverness Airport at New Century House near the Kessock Bridge are expected to go ahead.
While those airports, like Sumburgh in Shetland, with air traffic controllers will keep them – a move that is seen as a victory for some campaigners.
The changes were triggered by the agreement reached between Hial and the Prospect Union to find a new way forward amid years of acrimony over the plans.
That deal effectively made the development of remote air traffic control too uncertain for the tender process to continue and it has now been cancelled.
A Hial spokesman said: "We contacted the companies involved in the remote tower procurement in October to confirm that the tender exercise had been halted.
"We considered it would be inappropriate and unfair to expect tenderers to remain engaged in the procurement process given the circumstances where the timescale, scope and extent of possible future remote air traffic provision is yet to be agreed by all key stakeholders.
"As and when we have outcomes from ongoing discussions with our air traffic colleagues and the trade union we will assess our future requirements to help deliver sustainable air services to the communities we serve.
"We have been clear that Air Traffic Management Strategy (ATMS) is the best option to maintain the long-term sustainability of air services for the Highlands and Islands.
"Nevertheless, we are committed to working with Prospect and our air traffic control colleagues to try and develop a new solution involving compromise by both sides.
"We would encourage those with an interest in ensuring the delivery of a safe, resilient, and sustainable air traffic operation for island communities to recognise the delicate nature of these negotiations and engage in constructive dialogue to reach that end.”
Mr Dey said: "Hial’s Air Traffic Management 2030 Strategy is a long-term programme consisting of numerous different individual projects.
"Some of these projects include one or more procurement exercises. Across the programme as a whole some procurement exercises have concluded, some are ongoing and some have not started yet.
"Following the announcement of the joint agreement between Hial and Prospect to establish a new way forward, Hial contacted those companies involved in the Remote Tower procurement to confirm that the tender exercise had been cancelled.
"Hial felt it would be inappropriate and unfair to expect tenderers to remain engaged in the procurement process in circumstances where the timescale for, and scope and extent of possible future remote air traffic provision is unclear."
Related articles: Air traffic centralisation plan 'a shambles of monumental proportions,' says Rhoda Grant
Hial says north MSP 's remarks on centralisation plans were 'unhelpful, uninformed and inflammatory'
