I recently found myself stepping off a flight at Wick Airport with something of a spring in my step.
I’d swapped the usual five-or-so-hour drive from Aberdeen to my Caithness hometown for the convenience of the 25-minute flight for the first time.
How pleasant it was to soar across Aberdeenshire on that sunny March afternoon, glimpsing Pennan below before getting a bird’s eye view of the Deveron flowing out to sea between Banff and Macduff – and then blasting over the Moray Firth.
Before I knew it, we had rounded a massive offshore wind development and landed.
I began to feel a fool for driving up so often. Why didn’t I do this all the time?
Two days later I was reminded why…
Eastern Airways Wick cancellations make flying a gamble
It’s fair to say operator Eastern Airways has a bit of a reputation in Wick. Any mention of a flight is usually greeted with a wary “well, if it’s running”.
So I shouldn’t have been surprised when, shortly after arriving at the terminal on Thursday afternoon, a worker trotted out a familiar refrain.
“Flight’s cancelled, I’m afraid,” he sighs about an hour before take-off.
A glance to the departures screen to my side confirms it, a big red bar with the word “cancelled” across it.
‘You’re optimistic!’
At this point, the options are limited.
You can either cancel the booking and get a refund, choose to wait for the next plane (which in this case, would be the next day) or take the complimentary taxi trip instead.
Panic descends on the departure lounge. One businessman with a Newcastle accent seems to be directing his anger at the town itself as he fumes about being stuck up here “surrounded by sheep and tumbleweed”.
I try not to take offence.
Unwilling to take the risk on the next day’s flight actually taking off, it’s the taxi for me.
An eight-seater is taking five of us all the way down, while others continue trying to make their own frantic arrangements.
The following morning, I wondered if their plans were thrown into further chaos when I saw the news about Heathrow grinding to a halt amid a fire.
One passenger has opted to wait for the next day’s flight, to which another weary traveller (who seems used to Wick flights) chirps across at him: “You’re optimistic!”
Of course, having to get a minibus from Wick to Aberdeen wasn’t the end of the world for me.
But this situation can affect others far more adversely, from patients travelling to hospital appointments in Aberdeen to folk heading off for important business reasons.
Just last year, our family was grateful for the air connection as an older relative would have struggled to make the journey otherwise.
And instances like this make me worry for the future of the service…
Just days before this palaver, the Scottish Government injected £1 million to keep these flights going for another year.
You have to wonder if Holyrood higher-ups are already regretting the investment.
What does future hold for Wick-Aberdeen flights?
The flights between Aberdeen and Wick were grounded during the pandemic but returned amid much fanfare in 2022.
The Chamber of Commerce had been calling for this for years, saying air connectivity would be vital for businesses while also boosting tourism in the region.
These flights were also said to “secure the future of Wick Airport”.
They’re propped up not only by the Scottish Government but with a £300,000 boost from Highland Council.
By the summer of 2023, the council had rapped Eastern Airways with penalties over an “unbelievable” number of Wick flight cancellations and delays.
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Some changes were made in a bid to boost reliability last October – with the flights reduced to just one per day on a Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
There are two on every other day of the week.
Speaking at the time, Eastern Airways boss Roger Hage said they were “acutely conscious that recent service levels have fallen short of the standards our passengers expect”.
This, he said, might “restore confidence”.
And that is, of course, crucial. Any form of public transport operates on a “use it or lose it” basis.
Such shoddy reliability will inevitably see fewer and fewer people booking this flight and what had been hailed as an economic lifeline to the north will be cut off again.
So will I fly again?
The thought of plummeting passenger numbers resulting in the entire service being axed does weigh on my conscience a bit.
But next time I head up, I think I’ll just drive.
If and when I hear that the service has become more robust, I’ll perhaps take the chance again.
Ben Hendry is City and Shire Team Lead at the Press and Journal and Evening Express, and Wick native.
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