A fight to save the Uist to Barra air service will taken to the Scottish Parliament.
Stornoway SNP councillors Rae Mackenzie and Gordon Murray have launched a petition to be lodged with the parliament’s public petitions committee.
The petitions committee is coming to the Western Isles next month and the two councillors are urging all islanders to bback the campaign to reinstate the lifeline air link which connects Barra with the rest of the Western Isles.
The petition reads:“To petition the Scottish Parliament that Comhairle nan Eilean Siar maintains its support for the lifeline air services between Stornoway, Benbecula and Barra”
It adds: “The petitioners believing that the Comhairle’s current proposals risk the future of all internal flights within the Outer Hebrides and would severely undermine the transport connections which have been built up between the islands over the last forty years, with serious implications for the local economy and community.
It seeks “the petitions committee of the Scottish Parliament to ensure the Comhairle fulfils its air transport Public Service obligations in the Hebrides and to examine the implications for people in all Scotland’s island communities of this appalling move.”
Mr Murray has informally discussed the Barra plane petition with MSP David Stewart, the convenor of the Public Petitions Committee.
On Thursday, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar voted to axe the Uist - Barra air link from
the end of March and to use the saved £148,000 to shore up its budget.
However, there is a risk that its funding from central government may reduce accordingly in the future if it no longer provides the service.
