Plans to downgrade Wick airport should be reviewed, say controllers
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A CALL has been made to review plans to centralise Highlands and Islands air traffic control services in Inverness and downgrade the airport at Wick.
Ten air traffic controllers and a commercial pilot told the Scottish Parliament’s petitions committee they have concerns about safety, costs and the technology, which they say is “untried and untested”.
It comes after Andy Bruce, who founded Far North Aviation at Wick airport, last week claimed Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd (Hial) was “pulling the wool over everybody’s eyes” on its centralisation and downgrading plans.
The workers claim the one-size-fits-all approach is not appropriate and want a full review of the proposed scheme. The controllers question the consultation process and made their submissions anonymously as they claim they would be concerned for their jobs if they were identified.
However, a number of submissions were made to the committee in support of the project and include one from Niclas Gustavsson who was responsible for establishing the world’s first remote tower centre in Sweden. Airlines and consultants also give their backing to the initiative.
One air traffic controller, who works for Hial, said a survey conducted by the Prospect union last month found 83 per cent of the controllers opposed the centralisation plans, while 95 per cent did support modernisation of the service.
“The displeasure among air traffic control staff has never been taken on board by Hial management and the Air Traffic Management Strategy (ATMS) project team,” they said.
“Hial have chosen the costliest and riskiest option, which I believe will not improve the safety of air traffic control in the Highlands and Islands.”
The technology has “not been tried and tested in unpredictable climates,” said a controller who is against the proposal to downgrade the airports at Wick and Benbecula from an air traffic control to an aerodrome flight information service.
Another objector raised concerns about the costs of the plan to centralise the service at a base in Inverness.
Hial said claims that remote digital tower technology was unsafe and untested were “uninformed and misleading”. It points out that the technology has been operational since 2015.
A spokesman added: “The petitions committee has received considerable correspondence from aviation industry experts supportive of our approach. The change in service provision will not affect the safety of air traffic. It is inaccurate and alarmist to suggest otherwise.”
