​New inter-island air operator

The Comhairle provides the £450,000 subsidy to the route which is not eligible for Public Sector Obligation funding from the Scottish Government because it is contained within a single local government area.

Britten Norman Islanders were operated by Loganair in the early days of inter-island air services but in recent years larger planes have been deployed as part of the Loganair network. However, the Comhairle believes an eight-seater “suits the operational passenger loads better and makes the routes viable due to the decreased operating costs”.

The agreement with Hebridean Air Services will see the service return to three days of operation per week – Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays - with the plane based at Stornoway. Hebridean Air Services currently run services out of Oban to Colonsay, Coll and Tiree.

The plane will return from Stornoway to its Oban base on the days it is not operating the Benbecula route. This opens up the possibility of carrying passengers between Stornoway and Oban, once a week in each direction, although this does not feature in the new agreement.

Around 90 per cent of passengers carried between Benbecula and Stornoway are hospital patients or medical staff. The schedule of appointments for patients from Uist and Barra will have to be revised around the new timetable. At present, the Loganair service between Benbecula and Stornoway operates on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Uisdean Robertson, chair of the Comhairle’s transportation committee, told the Gazette that there had been “a serious danger of losing the service altogether” and that while some people were complaining about the smaller plane, it was more in line with actual demand.

He said: “The good thing is that it is a four year contract which takes the year to year uncertainty out of it. The fact it is to be based in Stornoway on these days will hopefully mean it will not be so reliant on weather windows”.

Cllr Robertson said they were emphasising to the Scottish Government the need for transport and health services to “get out of their silos” in order to provide a service which embraces patient travel requirements.

Hebridean Air Services is a subsidiary of Airtask Group Limited, based in Milton Keynes, which recently celebrated its 40th anniversary and is one of the longest standing air operators in the UK. It also operates internal Shetland routes and provides aerial surveillance flights to government agencies including the MoD.

The company is no stranger to Stornoway or Benbecula having operated surveillance flights through both locations since the early 1990s. Bookings will soon be available through the Hebridean Air Services web-site which is being updated to include the new route details. Comhairle nan Eilean Siar met them in Stornoway this week in anticipation of flights starting “as soon as feasible after 1 April” .

Julie Simper, Managing Director of Hebridean Air Services, said: “Having operated two PSO services for some time we understand the criticality of the routes to be served and understand that the needs of the travellers must be the highest priority.”