Barra seeks calls on government to intervene on air service 27/2/13
Angry islanders on Barra want the Scottish Government to save a lifeline air service after it was abolished by Comhairle nan Eilean Siar.
Though the Scottish Government is spending around £5 million on two new-
The council says the plane link to Benbecula which lands on Barra’s unique beach airport is vastly underused.
In a double blow, the council is also poised to halve the number of onward flights from Benbecula to Stornoway and Inverness.
Without the plane, islanders face rough sea voyages by ferry to get anywhere elsewhere in the Western Isles.
The link is often used to get patients to hospital and for visiting doctors to get to the island.
Staff working at Barra airport are also likely to be face reduced hours and a cut in their wage packet.
Though the Barra -
A petition has been launched in protest of the council’s vote to abolish the air service and is due to be presented to the Scottish Parliament Petitions Committee.
A sense of betrayal on Barra has led to growing calls for the Scottish Government to intervene and directly run the service as it does with the Barra to Glasgow plane.
However, it has emerged that Western Isles Council has apparently not made any request to relinquish its responsibility.
One disadvantage to the council is that the Scottish Government could reduce its funding accordingly.
Instead, it has formally asked the government to subsidise an increased frequency of air links between Glasgow and Barra.
Barra councillor Donald Manford says the council has let islanders down by abandoning
the Uist to Barra leg of the inter-
He demands the council begins the process for the Scottish Government to take over the air route.
Cllr Manford said: “It is always the local authority that is required to approach
government to negotiate that transfer -
He added: “The Comhairle is abandoning its lifeline obligation. If they have also neglected to have approached the government to transfer that obligation, then that’s quite shocking and I call on them to do that now.”
The councillors said the process required the “council, in the first instance to approach government.”
Eoin Macneil of Voluntary Action Barra, is also pressing the Scottish Government to step in.
He says it is an important service which supports the fragile local economy and creates jobs.
Its withdrawal particularly hits the ill, elderly, and vulnerable, he added.
Mr Macneil wondered: “Has the Comhairle asked the Scottish Government if they will take over the air service?”
A Transport Scotland spokesman said: "The provision of supported air services within the Western Isles is a matter for Comhairle nan Eilean Siar and we intend to speak with the council to gain a better understanding of the decision it has reached."