Carmichael highlights islander frustrations with southbound flight connections in transport debate

Orkney and Shetland MP, Alistair Carmichael, has today called for more action from the UK government and the Civil Aviation Authority to reduce disproportionate disruption for domestic flights, including those from the North of Scotland, transiting through London. 

During a parliamentary debate on Scottish transport links with the rest of the UK, led by Conservative MP John Lamont, Mr Carmichael noted that British Airways short-haul domestic flights through Heathrow to Scotland were often deprioritised relative to long-haul flights from other carriers during times of disruption, harming islanders going on holiday and tourists aiming to travel to the Northern Isles, and asked the government to bring key stakeholders together to tackle the problem.

Speaking during the debate, Mr Carmichael said:

“For us, the most important links between Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom, and indeed the rest of the world, are airlinks. The codeshare operated between Loganair and British Airways is enormously important for business travel and the visitor economy.

“Tourists come to Orkney and Shetland from across the world. When they go on the British Airways website to book a ticket that will take them from anywhere in the world to Heathrow and on through Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen or Inverness into Orkney and Shetland, that is enormously important for us. That code share works better sometimes than others, but it is always a very important service.

“The reliance on Heathrow, however, can be something of a mixed blessing for air passengers going from anywhere in Scotland to the rest of the United Kingdom and onward. Heathrow is a massively busy airport so it does not take an awful lot for disruption to happen. When it happens, the consequences are always felt most acutely by the short-haul domestic services. British Airways services—those coming from Scotland, in particular—are left to bear the brunt.

“British Airways is therefore the one that gets the criticism, but is not necessarily the one at fault. It tells me that this is something that the Civil Aviation Authority, Heathrow airport, the airlines operating at Heathrow and the Department for Transport could fix between them. My ask of the Minister when she sums up is to make it clear whether she will act as the interlocutor, the spokesperson for Scotland’s air passengers in dealing with those bodies—in particular the Department for Transport—to ensure that we are not always the ones who are left behind.”