Highlands & Islands Airports

[News Guru]

Final trip for Orkney shortest flight pilot

A pilot who has completed the world's shortest scheduled flight more than 12,000 times is to take to the skies over Orkney for the last time.

Stuart Linklater, 59, will retire after making his final trip on the route between Westray and Papa Westray.

It takes just two minutes - including taxiing - to complete the 1.7 mile flight, which is about the same length as the runway at Edinburgh Airport.

Mr Linklater, a pilot with Loganair, has spent 24 years in the job

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Reminds me of a story, probably apocryphal, of an elderly pilot who found himself relegated to the Highlands and Islands routes many years ago who would sometimes sit in one of the passenger seats wearing an old coat over his uniform before departure.

As the passengers settled down he would affect to become increasingly impatient at the lack of any obvious progress in getting the flight started before saying loudly that he would fly the thing himself. He would then storm onto the flight deck and the next thing his anxious passengers would hear was the sound of engines being started.

He may have been the same pilot who was ahead of his time in inflight entertainment and would sometimes stand at the front of the passenger cabin prior to a flight playing his ukulele.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Inverness -London City: Flybe

Flybe has announced that it is to axe this route from 22 February 2015 blaming poor passenger loads. It's only been operating for two months.

http://www.inverness-courier.co.uk/News ... 012015.htm

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Inverness Airport

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/aviatio ... unway.html

Flybe Q 400 reportedly came off runway after landing today. INV is currently closed. No reports of injuries.

 

[jfy1999]

KLM are set to start Inverness flights using Fokker 70 aircraft amid a mini-boom of European expansion.

 

[jfy1999]

BA resumed flights from Heathrow to Inverness yesterday:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-36187042

 

[Brum X]

I love these little fokkers.

 

[imagineif]

Good news for Inverness, KLM are adding 2 extra flights this Summer including a night stop to facilitate an early departure from INV with more connectivity. Equipment is also planned to be a mixture of E190/175, they must be happy with the performance of this route! Aberdeen is loosing one of its rotations as load factors continue to suffer of late.

A lot of growth from KLM and mainly its Cityhopper division this summer - very diverse too but operational performance could be tricky. The E175 deliveries are trickling in, the Fokker is disappearing fast and the carrier has added a multitude of new rotations.

London City will be 4x Daily by the end of Summer, the increase at Inverness, a spat with Alitalia resulting in KLM taking over its own Milan flights again, Zagreb, Split, Cagliari, Gdansk, Graz - Cityhopper are also doing some of the rotations into Venice and Ibiza??!! in mid summer.

The Cityhopper fleet in terms of units has not really grown yet as the E175 are replacing the Fokkers on a 1 in 1 out basis so unless they announce more aircraft arriving very soon they are going to be working those machines hard this summer - 8 to 10 rotations a day I recon!

 

[Jerry]

Yes Cityhopper will be worked very hard and the fleet will be stretched which might benefit Air France as CDG can be an alternative for some of the airports with a AF connection. It's good that Inverness is growing.

 

[Jerry]

Not a good start for the new Flybe/Eastern franchise. It looks like the Embraer crew are struggling with the winds at Sumburgh and having to divert back to ABZ causing knock on delays and cancellations and as Loganair don't seem to be having as much problems it's not good PR for Flybe.
http://www.shetnews.co.uk/news/1513...teething-troubles-or-a-sign-of-things-to-come

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Not a good start for the new Flybe/Eastern franchise. It looks like the Embraer crew are struggling with the winds at Sumburgh and having to divert back to ABZ causing knock on delays and cancellations and as Loganair don't seem to be having as much problems it's not good PR for Flybe.
http://www.shetnews.co.uk/news/1513...teething-troubles-or-a-sign-of-things-to-come

It's not only the aircraft. On Sunday we were due to take the ferry to Barra from South Uist but it was unable to operate because of the weather. We managed to retrace our steps to Stornoway as thankfully that ferry was still running.

 

[Jerry]

It's not only the aircraft. On Sunday we were due to take the ferry to Barra from South Uist but it was unable to operate because of the weather. We managed to retrace our steps to Stornoway as thankfully that ferry was still running.

I've never been to the islands but I have read and seen on TV that they have very challenging weather a lot of time.

 

[Aviador]

Investigation after plane leaves taxiway at Stornoway airport

An investigation is under way after a plane bound for Glasgow veered off the taxiway at Stornoway Airport on Lewis.

Flybe said the aircraft went on to the grass after its wheels made contact with taxiway lights while turning on Sunday evening.

Emergency services were alerted but none of the three crew or 29 passengers on board flight BE2975 was hurt.

Full article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-41634947

 

[Jerry]

Flybe will end operations from Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen to Sumburgh in the Shetland Islands on the 8th January 2018.
http://www.shetlandtimes.co.uk/2017/12/07/breaking-claims-flybe-pulled-shetland-route

 

[Silvercity]

So it's just Logan air operating now, this is their traditional territory.

 

[Aviador]

Air Traffic Control Industrial Action – Prospect announce further strike dates

Following the rejection of HIAL’s latest offer on 28 June, HIAL met with Prospect on Thursday 4 July, in a further attempt to reach an agreement to resolve the dispute.

As previously reported, the offer rejected by Air Traffic Controllers (ATCOs) comprised a retention allowance that would have seen ATCOs benefit from an additional £10,000 over a five-year period.

At the meeting Prospect presented an offer that once again significantly exceeds the flexibility and affordability of a publicly owned organisation.

Throughout this process, HIAL has been committed to resolving this dispute and have submitted a number of proposals that have been rejected outright by the Union.

Inglis Lyon, HIAL’s Managing Director said: “We are dismayed that Prospect has announced further days of strike action and apologise sincerely to our customers, passengers and local communities for the continued disruption.

“It is disheartening to have received a counter offer from Prospect that is beyond our affordability.

“Over the past eight months we have discussed various options with the Union and have been clear throughout that any proposal must be affordable and within the terms of Public Sector Pay Policy. Prospect are aware of HIAL’s budgetary restrictions and our latest offer constituted compromise to accommodate trade union demands within the bounds of the pay policy.

“We remain committed to resolving the dispute and our latest offer of a retention allowance of £10,000 over a five year period remains on the table.

“The continued industrial action is having a significant impact on our communities and the airlines operating from our airports. We would encourage Prospect to revisit the offer and bring this dispute to an end.”

As a result of the strike action, the following airports will be closed to air traffic:

Sunday 21 July 2019: Inverness Airport
Monday 22 July 2019: Sumburgh Airport, Kirkwall Airport
Tuesday 23 July 2019: Stornoway Airport, Benbecula Airport, Dundee Airport

 

[Jerry]

Low-carbon aircraft to be trialled in Orkney

The project is part of an ambition to create the "world's first zero emission aviation region".

www.bbc.com

 

[Jerry]

Multi-million-pound plan to bring new routes to Wick Airport

Politicians and business groups have welcomed a multi-million pound commitment to help bring back lifeline flights to Wick Airport. Caithness was left

www.pressandjournal.co.uk