MSP Gail Ross sets out concerns over future of Wick airport
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
NORTH MSP Gail Ross has spoken of her fears for the future of Wick John O’Groats Airport following what she describes as a series of setbacks in recent weeks, including late or cancelled flights.
She claims there is a feeling in the community that airport operator Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd (Hial) “prefers to boost Inverness” and passengers are turning to road transport instead.
Mrs Ross, the SNP MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, has set out her concerns in a letter to Scotland’s transport secretary Michael Matheson ahead of his visit to the far north.
“Every business meeting I have had in Caithness and north Sutherland recently has had a focus on the airport and the service from both airlines [Eastern Airways for Flybe, and Loganair] which seems to be declining,” Mrs Ross said today. “I am afraid that if passenger numbers fall to unsustainable levels there will be no incentive for these airlines to operate out of Wick any more.
We absolutely must do everything in our power to make sure that the airport remains operational.
“People are not using flights because of the unreliability and price of the service. Yes, we have the Air Discount Scheme, but that is not available for business travellers and the uptake is not what we would like.
“We absolutely must do everything in our power to make sure that the airport remains operational and that the services to Aberdeen and Edinburgh are firstly maintained but they have to drastically improve before passengers will show a commitment to using them again on a regular basis.
“We are pressing the Scottish Government and Transport Scotland to look at these routes again in a more creative manner and help us realise the potential we have in the far north for both business and tourism.”
A spokesman for Hial said: “One of our key priorities is to deliver long-term, sustainable connectivity for the communities we serve via our airports. We look to support the social and economic prosperity of the Caithness area wherever possible and will continue in our drive to increase connectivity to meet both business and community requirements for the area.
“In recent years £9.4 million has been invested at Wick airport, with a further £2.3 million in airfield improvements planned over the next two years.”
'We are penalised because of where we live'
Wick's air links should be seen as a “lifeline service”, local MSP Gail Ross says in her letter to Scotland’s transport secretary Michael Matheson.
“There is a view that HIAL prefers to boost Inverness and we are losing passengers hand over fist to Inverness but all that serves to do is make a very busy A9 much busier. We need to get more people using the air services in and out of Wick and the time has come to look at how that can be done in a way that is not already happening.
“One thing is for sure – the whole north of Scotland would benefit from decent links to Aberdeen and the central belt to work and for us to attract talent. I don’t agree with the premise that just because we have a road and a rail link (4.5 hours from Wick to Inverness!) our air service shouldn’t be looked at as a lifeline service.
“Another thing to consider is that people going on their holidays either have to take one day at either side to travel to another airport or risk losing a connection because of the amount of times our fights are late or cancelled.
“We do not have parity with the rest of Scotland when it comes to travel – in fact we are penalised because of where we live.
“Loganair has also cancelled its Sunday and Tuesday flights until the end of September due to the work-to-rule that the air traffic controllers have in place. Even though Wick is not part of this, we are still having to suffer.
“People are sick of it and something needs to be done. We simply cannot wait until the flights stop altogether because confidence will then be so low that we will never get passengers back again.”
