MSP ‘strongly urges’ transport secretary to attend aviation meeting
A HIGHLANDS and Islands MSP says the issue of regional aviation “cannot be addressed from faraway offices” after it emerged transport secretary Stephen Flynn will not attend a stakeholder meeting on the topic.
Kristopher Leask, who represents the Greens, said he strongly urged Flynn to lead the Highlands and Islands aviation summit “he himself called for”.
Transport Scotland confirmed that Flynn will attend a separate briefing for MSPs and elected representatives.
Transport officials will co-host the wider stakeholder meeting with regional transport partnerships, including ZetTrans.
The event is being held to discuss aviation after well-publicised issues with Loganair and its Inverness-Kirkwall-Sumburgh route, which resulted in the government stumping up more than £1 million in funding to keep a full service going.
Calling for Flynn to attend the event with transport partnerships, Leask said the cabinet secretary “must recognise the impact that a lack of regional air transport strategy has on communities right across the region”.
“And he must understand that building a durable solution will only happen if he spends time collaborating with air operators, regional transport partnerships and elected representatives,” he added.
“This issue cannot be addressed from faraway offices in Edinburgh.
“Political leadership must come north. The cabinet secretary must treat this crisis with the seriousness required and speak with all of us to find a way forward that delivers sustainable connectivity for everyone across the Highlands and Islands.”
Flynn confirmed plans for an event in a letter written on 1 September.
The letter said that the Scottish Government “recognises the importance of good connectivity to island communities including through the aviation sector”.
“That said, it also sets out some of the fundamental difficulties in making changes to aviation policy in the manner proposed by some stakeholders and commentators,” Flynn continued.
“For example, the UK subsidy control regime and legislation on public service obligations (PSOs) both significantly constrain the options open to Scottish ministers.
“Such challenges are long-standing, pre-empt the situation at Inverness and deserve thorough consideration. For that reason, my letter also noted my earlier decision to hold a more strategic discussion on the issues facing intra-Scotland aviation.”
Flynn wrote that planning for the event “is well underway and officials are actively discussing an agenda, date and a venue”.
“I consider it important to host the event within the Highlands and Islands, however, notwithstanding our allocation of significant new resources to HIAL for Inverness services, I understand that this may be difficult for some stakeholders,” he added.
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