State aid to save Wick air routes could take up to a year to put in place, Highlands and Islands MSP is told
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Highlands and Islands MSP David Stewart is urging the Scottish Government to look seriously at interim measures to save Wick air routes after being told state aid for services could take up to a year to put in place.
The Labour MSP is supporting the campaign for a public service obligation (PSO) to protect the Wick/Edinburgh and Wick/Aberdeen routes after Caithness was left without scheduled air services.
However, Scotland's transport secretary Michael Matheson has now told Mr Stewart that a PSO “would likely take around nine to 12 months for services to start due to the regulatory and procurement processes required”.
And, in response to a series of parliamentary questions lodged by Mr Stewart, Mr Matheson has said the Scottish Government has held no talks with the UK government about the situation nor made its own assessment of how uncertainty regarding the future of Wick John O'Groats Airport could impact on the Caithness and Sutherland area.
“I’ll say it again, the writing was on the wall long before the collapse of services at Wick airport but the Scottish Government dragged its feet,” Mr Stewart said.
“If a PSO can now not be advanced for up to a year, the Scottish Government must think of emergency measures to ensure services for that area in the intervening period.
“I would have thought discussion with the UK government, as it has responsibility for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and for the UK Space Agency and their investment in the area, would be beneficial but Mr Matheson has said there have been no talks with them.
“There must be rapid movement on this to keep the far north’s connectivity and to aid development for the future.”
Mr Stewart wrote to Mr Matheson and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon after Loganair announced the axing of its Edinburgh/Wick service on March 27.
The MSP had previously asked the Scottish Government for action following the collapse of Flybe when the Wick/Aberdeen route was taken over by Eastern Airways, which previously ran it under a franchise for Flybe. Mr Stewart argued that the Wick/Aberdeen service was fragile due to falling passenger numbers. Eastern Airways has now withdrawn this route.
Mr Matheson previously said the business case submitted by Caithness Chamber of Commerce was being given careful consideration.
A PSO, under European transport law, is a permitted state aid which maintains scheduled air services on routes vital for the economic development of the region they serve.
Last month a spokesman for Transport Scotland, the national transport agency, said: "We recognise the issues faced by the Caithness area in relation to the loss of the Wick to Aberdeen and Edinburgh air services, as well as more generally.
"We are carefully considering the business case submitted by Caithness Chamber of Commerce and will respond as soon as we can."
