Loganair to expand capacity after winning mail contract

LOGANAIR has been awarded a five-year contract to fly mail to the Northern Isles which will see capacity for deliveries double.

The airline will take on the Royal Mail contract on 1 February using larger Saab 340 freighter aircraft on routes to Shetland and Orkney.

Over twenty new jobs for pilots and engineers will be created across the country as a result of the Scotland-wide contract, with more ground handling staff set to be recruited in Shetland.

Loganair managing director Jonathan Hinkles said the airline was “delighted” to take over the service in what is the largest single contract ever awarded to the company.

“The creation of 24 new jobs at four locations in Scotland to support the new contract is fantastic news,” he said.

“The training of new pilots and engineers for our expanded network of services for Royal Mail is already under way, and it will significantly increase the scale of Loganair’s employment at both Inverness and Aberdeen airports.”

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The contract means that the operator will become only one of two airlines picked by Royal Mail to operate its mail airfreight programme in Scotland’s islands and the wider UK network.

In addition to continuing to run the Western Isles mail service linking Inverness with Stornoway and Benbecula, Loganair will now connect Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Inverness.

The airline will expand its fleet of Saab 340 freighter aircraft from two to four and all of the planes on the service will feature a Royal Mail insignia.

Royal Mail logistics director Euan McMurdo said: “We are pleased to be awarding this new contract to Loganair, one of our longstanding suppliers serving the Scottish islands.

“The introduction of larger aircraft on our services to and from Orkney and Shetland will double the freight capacity on these flights, which we’re sure will be warmly welcomed by island residents and local businesses alike.”