LIFELINE flights between Inverness and the Western Isles were seriously disrupted yesterday because of a shortage of air traffic controllers.
Some services between the Highland capital and Stornoway Airport on Lewis had to be cancelled and others were delayed as a result of “staff changes” and illness.
Similar chaos is expected today and, last night, north politicians criticised Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd (Hial) for not having more robust contingency plans.
Alasdair and Rachel Lockett, who flew into Inverness from the Hebrides yesterday afternoon, said the problem would have an adverse impact on the islands if it became a recurring one.
Stornoway Airport is normally open from 7am-7.45pm on weekdays, but opening times were reduced to 8.15am-5.45pm yesterday and will be the same today .
Teatime flights to and from Inverness and Glasgow were cancelled. Morning services were delayed as flights from Inverness, Edinburgh and Glasgow were held back.
Letters were not delivered as the mail plane did not arrive until the afternoon.
Highlands and Islands independent MSP John Finnie said: “People often think air travel is a luxury, whereas it’s a necessity for places like the Western Isles.
“Hial should have robust processes in place to ensure that routine events, like staff absences, do not result in any curtailment to lifeline services.”
North Labour MSP David Stewart said: “This is a vitally important service between Inverness and Stornoway and obviously air traffic controllers are required for air safety.
“I use this service frequently and I understand how important it is, particularly for oil workers, patients attending hospital and for tourism and business.
“I’m sure Hial will do their best to minimise the impact, but I understand the inconvenience and will be writing to them.”
Western Isles SNP MSP Alasdair Allan said: “This is a lifeline service. The airport has to be open and I have written to Hial asking them to make sure there are sufficient staff to ensure it is open during its normal operating hours.”
And Western Isles SNP MP Angus MacNeill said: “This is obviously a disruption that is causing a lot of difficulty for many people and it is not good for the community.
“I hope this blip will be ironed out soon and that the situation will be reviewed to ensure it doesn’t happen again.”
A Hial spokesman said a number of factors, including staff changes and sickness, had combined to create an “operational challenge”.
He said: “With a reduced pool of qualified controllers, we need to limit their working day in order to comply with regulations governing the amount of hours that air traffic personnel can work.
“Our controllers have worked hard to limit the disruption on these two dates, though we appreciate this will still cause some inconvenience for passengers.”
He said staff changes included people who had been transferred to other locations and could not be transferred back.
The spokesman added: “Hial has an ongoing training programming and controllers will validate at different stages of that programme. We currently have two trainees who are at the later stages of the programme, with another due to join next month.”
Hial managing director Inglis Lyon, who warned last week that problems were looming, said the company was working closely with airline Loganair to ensure disruption was kept to a minimum.
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