Ten years of Sunday flights 26/10/12
This weekend is the 10th anniversary of the first controversial Sunday flights on the Sabbath observing island of Lewis.
Loganair broke the strong local tradition when it started regular seven day air services a decade ago.
A group of psalm singing protestors met the first Sunday plane when it landed at Stornoway Airport, which serves Lewis and Harris, on 27 October 2002. The 60 or so churchgoers, mainly from the Free Church Continuing, warned it breached God’s law and would open the floodgates to more Sunday opening.
Since then pubs and clubs have dances and music into Sunday morning and open again on Sabbath afternoon, a filling station shop trades in Stornoway and a rural store is open.
But it took several years before seven-
There is also a campaign to open the council-
While the Stornoway Golf Club won the right to open its bar doors on a Sunday it is still forbidden to play golf on the Sabbath.
The Sunday plane service didn’t last long for BMI airways who pulled out of the island a couple of years later.
It also seems to be a commercial reason why Eastern Airways do not provide Sunday flights from Aberdeen.
But Loganair, which operates the service in partnership with FlyBe, is happy to fill the gap and continues to link Lewis with Glasgow, Edinburgh and Inverness.
Rev Greg Macdonald of the Lewis branch of the Lord’s Day Observance Society said Sunday transport had failed to bring the economic revival promised by its campaigners.
Mr Macdonald said: “The effect is not what the supporters expected
“The island is not bursting with a glorious economy and the Sunday flights are not the salvation of the islands.”
He added: “They bring down further the distinctiveness of the islands and make the islands a lesser place to stay and work
He highlighted: “There are still Christians who fell disappointed and upset with every flight which takes off and with every ferry which sails on the Lord’s Day.
“Sadly, there are plenty in our churches who have grown indifferent to them and the responsibility of the church is not to change our message that the Resurrection Day is important to the Gospel.”
Usually, the Sunday planes are half full but last week many stragglers from the Royal National Mod took advantage of the flights to spend the weekend on the mainland.
One departing passenger was seaman Murdo Mackenzie on his way to join a standby boat in the North Sea.
Mr Mackenzie said: “If people don’t want to fly on a Sunday they don’t have to.”
He highlighted it saves him an extra day travelling to work which allowed him more time at home.
He said: “Otherwise I would have to go down on a Saturday and spend a day killing time” before joining his ship.
He said that people’s religious or personal beliefs over Sunday observance should not be imposed on everybody.
John Kennedy was picking up his grandchildren coming of the Inverness flight.
Mr Kennedy said he did not think it changed the island at all and it mean that families could visit each other for the weekend.
A spokesperson for Loganair, said: “Loganair is very pleased to have been providing air services to the islands for a number of years and we constantly strive to provide the best available service, regularly engaging with the communities.”