Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

John Swinney’s Shetland visit called off as plane unable to land

The first minister's flight was diverted back to Edinburgh after it was unable to land at the island's Sumburgh Airport.

First Minister John Swinney had been due to visit Shetland on Friday. Image: PA
First Minister John Swinney had been due to visit Shetland on Friday. Image: PA

First Minister John Swinney had to call off a visit to Shetland on Friday after his plane was unable to land on the island due to fog.

Mr Swinney’s flight circled Sumburgh Airport several times before it was diverted back to Edinburgh.

He had been due to announce a £5 million funding package to support island communities during the visit, designed to help tackle tackle local issues and invest in new opportunities.

A Scottish Government spokesman confirmed: “Due to the weather in Shetland the plane carrying the first minister was unable to land.

“He looks forward to visiting Shetland in the near future.”

Sumburgh Airport from above.
The plane carrying the first minister circled Sumburgh Airport several times before returning to Edinburgh. Image: Supplied

Mr Swinney was also due to use the visit for campaign stop in Lerwick alongside the SNP’s election candidate for Orkney and Shetland Robert Leslie.

SNP vs Liberal Democrat showdown expect

Mr Leslie will face of against current MP Alistair Carmichael, who was first elected in 2001.

At the most recent election in 2019, Mr Carmichael secured a majority of 2,500.

Speaking ahead of the visit, Mr Swinney had promised to take the party’s message to “every doorstep in Scotland”.

He said: “Neither Labour nor the Liberal Democrats offer any alternative to broken Brexit Britain.

“The SNP is the only party that will put Scotland first, as history proves. We are the only party that offers people in Scotland a route back into the European Union through independence.”

“And under my leadership as First Minister, the SNP is the only party that will continue to remain focused on the priorities of the people of Scotland. That’s why I am delighted to be here in Shetland today announcing £5 million of SNP Government investment in our island communities.”

Conversation