Tripled island flight cancellations in the show need to rejoin EGNOS – Carmichael

Orkney and Shetland MP, Alistair Carmichael, has today challenged transport ministers to rejoin European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service, in order to improve reliability and affordability of flights. Speaking during transport questions in the House of Commons, Mr Carmichael highlighted a tripling of flight cancellations in the isles since the UK left EGNOS as part of the previous government’s policy against European cooperation.

Transport minister Keir Mather MP agreed to meet with Mr Carmichael to discuss the potential for the UK to rejoin the programme.

The European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) is Europe's regional satellite-based augmentation system, enhancing GPS accuracy to within 1.5 meters. It ensures safety for aviation, maritime, and land users by providing real-time corrections and signal integrity checks.

Responding to Mr Carmichael’s initial question, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport, Keir Mather MP said:

“My department continues to engage with a range of aviation stakeholders, including the Civil Aviation Authority, to better understand the impacts of the loss of access to the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service. This also includes the practicalities, costs and benefits for industry and the taxpayer if we were to rejoin.”

Mr Carmichael said:

“I’ll speed things up there – I’ll tell him exactly what the impact has been. Since we lost access to EGNOS, the number of cancellations to island communities has trebled. That in turn has put up the cost of tickets, and we occasionally find that we are not able to get air ambulance flights in.

“That has been the cost of coming out of EGNOS. It’s about time that we found our way back into it. Would he meet with me and perhaps with the MP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar so that we might find a way of progressing this without any further delay?”

Mr Mather replied:

“I would be very glad to meet with him and his colleague. I understand the important role that EGNOS played in making sure we had those vital connectivity links. That’s why we intend to review the role that technologies such as EGNOS can play to ensure that our airspace is resilient, that it’s fit for purpose, but especially for remote airports that are more susceptible to adverse weather conditions – and I’m very happy to take that conversation forward with him.”

Reacting after the exchange, Mr Carmichael said:

“Aviation is a critical lifeline for the isles, both for business and practical connections, so we cannot afford to ignore the gaps in service caused by the loss of EGNOS.

“I am glad that the minister is offering a meeting but we really do need to move this issue along more quickly and at the highest levels of government. Far too many common-sense proposals for cooperation with the EU fell by the wayside due to the last government’s hostility to Europe. For the sake of the safety and reliability of our lifeline transport, we need to get moving on this now.”