A Western Isles councillor has spoken of the “perfect storm” stirred up by the impact of airport strikes and ferry disruption on islanders.
Unite members based at airports run by Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd (Hial) have been on strike since Tuesday in a dispute over pay.
More than 120 workers have staged a walkout over 72 hours, with normal operations to restart on Friday.
A further five days of action are due to start on Wednesday March 8 with walkouts continuing until Friday, March 17.
Island airports have been the worst affected in the dispute, with no flights to and from Stornoway, Barra and Benbecula in the Outer Hebrides.
Western Isles councillor Uisdean Robertson spoke to BBC’s Good Morning Scotland, where he said many islanders chose to travel by plane because of ongoing issues with ferries.
He said: “Quite a large cohort from the community chose to travel by air during this time because of capacity issues on the ferries, so it’s come at a bad time for us.
“It’s been a perfect storm.”
Complaints from islanders
CalMac is currently under pressure to improve the reliability of ferry services as faults with its ageing fleet continue to impact travel between islands and to the mainland.
The ferry operator was fined about £450,000 earlier this month due to poor performance on the Skye Triangle route in 2022, more than four times the £100,000 it was fined in 2021.
Ferries from the mainland to the Western Isles have been reduced due to the closure of the Uig pier on Skye, which forms part of the Skye Triangle route.
Complaints have been made by islanders in Uist and Barra, unable to travel to Stornoway or the mainland for vital hospital appointments.
Flights from Benbecula to Stornoway operate daily from Tuesday to Thursday, but there were no flights this week due to strike action.
Mr Robertson also noted the current vessel on the Sound of Harris ferry service between Berneray and Leverburgh was much smaller further limiting travel capacity.
Sympathy for Hial workers
Asked if there was any sympathy with Hial workers, he said: “We are used to dealing with a lot of the staff who work in Stornoway and Benbecula during the issue of the air traffic control, so there is sympathy there.”
Mr Robertson says not enough is being done to resolve the issues on pay and called on the Scottish Government to do more.
He added: “Along with Orkney, Shetland and the Highlands we had a discussion with Hial, which we do monthly, and they say they are continuing to talk to the unions but I think clearly until the Scottish Government step in we are going to continue having this problem.”
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “We absolutely respect the democratic right of union members to take industrial action – though it is disappointing that passengers face the prospect of further disruption.
“We encourage Hial and Unite to continue to engage in positive dialogue in order to resolve this dispute.”
Conversation