Loganair backlash after public attack

Loganair chief executive Luke Farajallah issued a public statement after Sunday's flight had to be cancelled.

The chairman of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar’s transportation committee, Uisdean Robertson, has intervened in a fierce public row between Loganair and Highlands and Islands Airports to call for “good working relationships” in the public interest.

Following cancellation of a flight on Sunday, the chief executive of Loganair, Luke Farajallah, launched a fierce attack on security staff at Stornoway airport. This met with an angry on-line response from the public while HIAL also backed the staff.

Councillor Robertson said: “Consistent and reliable transport links are vital, particularly in the summer months when many passengers have tight schedules and connections to onward flights. To give the public confidence that the service they pay for is reliable it is vital that HIAL, Loganair and other flight providers maintain good working relationships and put in place suitable contingencies to prioritise passengers.

“At my next meetings with HIAL and Loganair I will discuss disruptions to service and the importance of improving their future working relationship”.

Forty five passengers were booked on Sunday’s service to Edinburgh, with the timetable hit due to delays earlier in the day. The flight was first moved from 4.45pm to 7.30pm and then cancelled altogether.

Loganair said: “Despite the airline providing an aircraft and crew to ensure the delayed flight could operate, it was cancelled owing to the unwillingness of the Highlands and Islands Airports Security team to remain available and present at the airport to handle the flight.”

Loganair CEO Luke Farajallah, who was appointed in March following the departure of Jonathan Hinkles, added: “I am absolutely dismayed at the decision of the HIAL airport security team in Stornoway to leave the airport and refuse to handle the flight.

“The passengers who have been stranded will doubtless now have considerable disruption to onward journeys, thanks to this decision by the HIAL security team. We know many of these passengers will have been flying to Edinburgh to connect with international flights.

“The Loganair team pulled out all the stops to ensure an aircraft and crew were available and were willing to go the extra mile in the name of providing a flight”.

However the company faced an on-line backlash and eventually blocked comments. Murdo MacRitchie, who was booked on the flight, said: “Publicly shaming the security team like this is a very poor show.” Jim Moran added: “Perhaps you should firstly address the numerous cancellations caused by Loganair.”

A HIAL spokesperson said: “Our security team at Stornoway, as with all our teams, regularly go above and beyond to accommodate extension requests from airline partners and voluntarily stay on beyond airport opening times for late running schedules wherever possible.

“Stornoway received an extension request yesterday for over two hours beyond airport closure at short notice due to schedule delays earlier in the day. Unfortunately, on this occasion we did not have the required resource to support this request. It is disappointing that comments were made on social media blaming our hard-working team for the cancellation of the flight”.