Benbecula residents say they will fight on to save the ATC - and jobs!

In January 2020 Highlands & Islands Airports Ltd (HIAL) announced that it would be removing Air Traffic Control (ATC) from both Benbecula and Wick Airports.

In a meeting with Uist Councillors in January, HIAL Management said the removal of ATC from Benbecula is a necessary step due to changing regulatory requirements.

However Prospect Union has confirmed with the CAA that maintaining ATC at Benbecula will still be a viable option in the future.

Cllr Iain MacNeil,chairman of Uist Economic Task force said: “I demand that HIAL are open about the real reasons for the decision to downgrade Benbecula Airport.”

This decision itself was made without consultation with staff and no consultation with the communities who depend on the airport services.

In a meeting in September, HIAL’s representative, who is leading the downgrade of Benbecula Airport, admitted the decision had also been made without having assessed the safety consequences or risks associated with the decision, and that risk assessments and hazard identification still need to be carried out.

The removal of Air Traffic Control eliminates a significant level of safety from Benbecula as it provides instructions to aircraft on a minimum safe distance between them. To mitigate for the loss of the ATC, current airport schedules would be unviable, and inbound and outbound flights would have to be allocated time slots to ensure adequate safety separation.

As Benbecula relies on daily connections with Stornoway, Inverness and Glasgow, without ATC, the Uist community is likely to suffer more frequent delays and cancellations in addition to those already caused by adverse weather.

Vanessa Langley, member of Benbecula Community Council which petitioned the Scottish Government to suspend their policy said: “Our fragile community depends on the Airport for business, connecting with family, holidays and healthcare such as cancer treatment, pregnancy scans and surgical operations.

“What are routine appointments for those in the cities requiring a couple of hours out of work, can mean a two-night stay in Glasgow or Inverness for a Uist resident.

“This is our airport as we are the ones who use it so this is not an operational issue for HIAL to decide on and we ask them to be open as to why they are downgrading the airport when there is a viable option to retain ATC.”

Uist Economic Task Force is calling on the Scottish Government, which wholly owns HIAL, to get directly involved and properly assess the potential damage to the Uist community.

Cllr Iain MacNeil said: “Downgrading Benbecula airport is not the only option open to HIAL and we demand that the other options are put on the table and properly assessed.

“We believed that the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 would give our island communities a voice in Holyrood and that the Scottish Ministers would now perform their ‘duty to have regard to island communities’. This has not happened.

“The eight Members of HIAL’s Board who approved the downgrade decision have never lived in the Scottish islands and yet they can decide the future of our lifeline services without consulting us.

“We will be submitting a new petition to the Scottish Government calling on HIAL’s Framework document to be amended to require that the HIAL Board contains some members who represent the island communities that HIAL serves.

“This is the best and indeed most appropriate way for islanders to be heard and to contribute at the right stage to key decisions which directly impact and affect our communities.”

An HIAL spokesperson said: “From the outset HIAL has kept all staff and stakeholders involved and fully informed with regard to the future of Benbecula airport through a series of meetings.

“We have set out clearly our rationale for sustainable air service provision based on the relatively low volume of air traffic. Our proposals are in line with practices in other HIAL airfields and aerodromes elsewhere within the UK.

“To be clear, our plans will not affect air traffic safety and it is misleading to say otherwise.

“We continue to work with colleagues, the trade union and the regulator to ensure air traffic services are maintained at the highest level required.”