Sir,
With the ongoing saga of a disjointed air service to the Highlands and Islands and
a lot of hand-
All the island councils, Highland Council and the health boards should come together to form one Highlands and Islands airline.
Two flights a day from Glasgow and Edinburgh to each destination would be a reasonable and viable option if operated with slightly bigger aircraft.
The service would have to be subsidised but would be operated as a public service route not for profit
but retaining a reserve for capital expenditure. The tourist trade in future years would benefit by introducing reasonable rates from Edinburgh and Glasgow to all areas.
Think of the economic growth to tourism if a £390 fare was reduced to £120, also the growth in passenger numbers, ensuring economies of scale The health boards should be able to save large amounts of money by timetabling appointments at hospitals to link up with their flight timetable.
We all know people over the last two years who through planes going “technical” have missed appointments, onward flights and other arrangements.
I have a great deal of regard for the pilots who are operating the present service in very inclement weather. Also the ground staff who have to deal with the fallout of all these problems but the present system is not fit for
purpose and we should be creating our own service.
Norman L Macdonald
Chairman
N.L Macdonald Ltd
Manor Filling Station
64-
Stornoway
Letter: Time for islands to run its own air service
2 January 2016