The impact of the coronavirus pandemic has forced Loganair to cut its operations to a skeleton service.
A basic schedule of essential air services will operate within Scotland including for the Western Isles.
These are aimed at people with an essential need, such as workers in designated critical professions and others covered by the latest government advice.
All flights between Stornoway and Inverness are suspended.
A limited timetable will run for Glasgow-
Royal Mail charter flights to the islands will continue.
Efforts are also in hand to protect essential carriage of pharmaceuticals, mail, newspapers and other consumer goods which rely on Loganair’s services in the Highlands and Islands.
All other Loganair routes and services are suspended from Monday until at least 20 April.
Some have already been closed for booking.
At present, services are planned to resume on a selection of key routes from 20 April and on others from 31 May. However, these dates will be reviewed depending on the prevailing national circumstances and consequent demand for travel.
Loganair’s chief executive Jonathan Hinkles said: “The challenges that we’re all facing in everyday life are evolving by the day, and we are having to work through a whole host of disparate issues to maintain services for those with a critical need to travel, or indeed the many island communities totally reliant on Loganair to deliver their daily essentials.
“I’m proud of the work that so many of our team are doing right now to keep vital air routes open, without which our communities would be in severe difficulty. The tremendous team spirit in evidence throughout Loganair is providing all of us with confidence to tackle the challenges that undoubtedly lay ahead.”
“Throughout all of this, safety will remain our absolute priority – whether that of our staff or our customers, or indeed the daily focus to assure that each and every Loganair flight is conducted safely.”
Customers booked on routes which have been suspended or cancelled will be entitled to a refund of their ticket. Customers who wish to defer their travel plans or are unable to travel will be able to change their bookings without the usual change fees for a future date, or put flights “on hold” for up to six months via the “Manage my Booking” tab at www.loganair.co.uk.
Loganair has advised that affected customers do not call their call centre until later on Sunday as they are experiencing very high volumes of calls.
The airline’s website will be updated with the relevant information and bookings can be managed online.
Customers on flights which have been cancelled or rescheduled will be notified via the contacts provided to Loganair at the time of booking. The airline is asking customers with future bookings to keep an eye open for booking changes, especially if important messages are caught in e-
Loganair expects to ground approximately half of its 44 aircraft in the coming days and affected staff are likely to be laid off under the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
The airline is also working to keep abreast of impending closures of several airport terminal facilities and to ensure contingency plans are available to continue to deliver these services even if the usual airport terminals are not available to accommodate customers. Further information will be released once the need for such arrangements becomes clear.
Loganair draws up emergency timetable for Western Isles during lockdown
26 March 2020
