Public rage over delayed and cancelled Wick flights – Taxi drivers quids in with £500+ fares
Multiple complaints have come to the attention of the John O’Groat Journal regarding the reliability of Eastern Airways flights between Wick and Aberdeen.
The matter was also noted by Highland Council leader and councillor for the Wick and East Caithness ward Raymond Bremner who said it was “really disappointing” that the service being provided by Eastern Airways is causing a considerable amount of local concern.
Cllr Bremner stated: “As the chair of the Wick John O’ Groats Airport Committee, the group has been noting the performance issues and the council has been in communication with Eastern Airways in respect of the issues to try and resolve them.
“I can’t anticipate the discussions that will be had in the immediate future but they will definitely focus on the amount of delayed and cancelled flights that passengers have been experiencing and the issues that this is causing for onward travel plans and work/business commitments.”
Cllr Bremner said there have been a number of reasons for the delayed and cancelled flights including “delays to the flight leaving Aberdeen; weather issues (mist and fog); technical issues and staffing issues”.
Laurence Campbell from Thurso was flying to Coventry from Wick for a special summit related to his work as a maintenance manager. When he arrived at Wick John O’Groats Airport at 9am on September 9 he was told that his 10.45am flight had been delayed.
“We got our boarding cards and were then told it had been delayed but there was no reason given for the delay,” said Mr Campbell. He was updated by staff telling him it was “delayed again and again”. He said he was anxious to get the connecting flight to get him to his destination and phoned his employer who told him he should get a taxi to Inverness. He then got a train from Inverness to Aberdeen and another taxi to the airport at Dyce.
“I’m not sure if that was paid by my employer or Eastern Airways. I eventually arrived at my hotel at 9.20pm instead of 4pm as expected.”
Mr Campbell said that his main issue was with the lack of communication from Eastern Airways but when speaking to a member of staff at the airport he said that she was “quite blunt” about the company saying that it “was typical of them…delaying, delaying, delaying”. “She said it happens all the time,” he added.
He heard that the scheduled flight eventually took off five hours late. Mr Campbell said he had a colleague who had to take a taxi on September 2 from Wick as his flight was cancelled. “When he flew back up on the Wednesday, his flight was again cancelled and he had to get another taxi home at Eastern Airways’ expense.
“He was told that taxi drivers are hovering about Aberdeen airport waiting to get called as it’s such a big money maker for them. That’s what his taxi driver told him.”
He also related how a taxi driver told another colleague that it was the fifth time he had done the run to Caithness in just one week. “She got back at 2am and it showed £527 on the taxi meter for the trip from Aberdeen to Wick airport.”
Mr Campbell called the matter “very disappointing”, especially in the light of Cllr Bremner and MP Jamie Stone “fighting hard to get the PSO [Public Service Obligation]”.
“If I was going abroad there’s no way I would book that [flight from Wick] as it would probably ruin my holiday.”
William Rosie from Reiss is a regular user of the Aberdeen-Wick-Aberdeen flights for offshore work and also says he is “very disappointed with the number of flights being cancelled”. He thinks that many of the cancellations were not only due to poor weather but also “no crew to cover the flights, logistics etc”.
He added: “When this has happened, they have put on taxis to Aberdeen. This has resulted in a four to five-hour journey i.e. arriving in Aberdeen around 10pm which is not ideal.
“I also have two outstanding compensation claims for last-minute cancellations (one from April and one from June). I have chased this up on various occasions only to be told there will be a further six weeks delay in receiving payment.
“Retaining the Wick/Aberdeen/Wick flight is paramount to offshore workers/workers/businesses and this situation must be addressed and hopefully resolved.”
There were many similar complaints about Eastern Airways raised after Cllr Bremner had written a public post about the matter on social media.
Cllr Bremner added: “After a long time trying to secure a PSO for flights to restart from Wick JoG Airport after Covid and after looking to secure the continuation of the PSO after two years, it’s really disappointing that we find the service being provided by Eastern Airways is causing a considerable amount of concern.
“It is very frustrating that when we know as a community that we need to promote and use the service in order to keep it, we can't rely on it.”
The Caithness councillor said he would update the public after discussions with the PSO working group.
The main aim of the Wick-Aberdeen PSO contract with Eastern Airways is to support the community of the north Highlands as a "lifeline" service, says Highland Council. The PSO will be in place for three years (from April 2022) and is funded by Transport Scotland (£1 million per year) and Highland Council (£300,000 per year).
The contract does not mean that the council covers the total running costs of the service. The airline is still expected to operate on a commercial basis and generate enough revenue from ticket sales to cover some of the cost of the flight.
Eastern Airways and the Wick PSO project officer had not responded to our questions about the service by the time of publication.
