The possibility of reinstating a five-day air service between Stornoway and Benbecula is being considered by Western Isles Council.
At present there are two return journeys per day between the two islands on a Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
The decision to cut the service back was made at the 2013 budget.
The council is now looking for external consultants to review the scope and performance of the current Public Service Obligation (PSO) to enable it to make a decision on the services to be procured from April 1 2017.
Angus MacNeil MP for the Western Isles said: “I would welcome the U-turn. I would also call for them to fully reinstate the Benbecula to Barra air services.
“It is not acceptable for a body to cut transport links.
“If the Scottish Government decided to follow the Western Isles Council we would have no ferry services and bus links to the Western Isles.
“The council was given money for air services. When the ring fence was removed they then decided to spend it elsewhere without communities seeing any benefit.
“The council can not be trusted to defend the need of our island communities. There are councillors there who have made cuts for islanders they have not visited.”
A council spokesman said: “The outputs of the review will inform a decision of the council on the future of the air services. As part of the review we are looking to identify ways and means of reinstating the five-day service ‘within existing financial provisions’.
“The reductions in air services by the council were in response to a budget consultation with the people of the Islands. Air services between Barra and Benebecula were not identified as a priority at a consultation meeting in Barra. However there was a desire to increase the number of flights between Barra and Glasgow which was one of the priorities identified by the community and the council supported that and indeed financially supported them.
“On the Benbecula -Stornoway service the local community made clear that any reductions in community transport would be of more concern that a reduction in the five day air service although the council, through engagement with the health service, tried to retain the service but this did not prove possible. However the council always said it would look again at how a five day service could be implemented and that is what we are currently engaged in with the review advertised for tender this week.”
The subsidy paid by the council to the current operator, Loganair, is circa £264,000 per annum.
