'Dismay' at end of Wick to Edinburgh flights

A long-standing air service between Wick John o' Groats Airport and Edinburgh is to end later this month.

Scottish airline Loganair said the number of passengers using its flights for onward connections to other parts of the UK and overseas had declined.

It added that the coronavirus outbreak had caused a further fall in bookings.

Wick airport's owner, Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd (Hial), said the decision to end the service would be "greeted with dismay" in Caithness.

Eastern Airways' Wick John o' Groats-Aberdeen service continues.

The last Wick-Edinburgh flight will be on 27 March.

Loganair, which has has flown from Wick since 1976, said "significant growth" in non-stop services from Inverness Airport over the last couple of years had led to a "marked deterioration" in the number of customers using the Wick-Edinburgh service.

It said overall passenger numbers on the route fell from 11,357 in 2016 to 7,632 last year - a fall of 33%.

The coronavirus outbreak had caused a further 17% fall in bookings compared to the same time last year.

Loganair's ground handling and customer service operation at Wick will close and the site's two employees will be offered redeployment to alternative locations within Loganair, or redundancy.

Chief executive Jonathan Hinkles said: "It's hugely disappointing that from the end of this month we will no longer fly from Wick."

He added: "Loganair is not ruling out the possibility of a return to Wick in future, and work has been ongoing between stakeholders for some time to identify options for a Public Service Obligation order to be imposed on the route."

Inglis Lyon, Hial's managing director, said the end of the service was "incredibly" disappointing.

He said: "This is a commercial decision that the operator has taken, however we recognise it is one that will be greeted with dismay from within the Caithness community.

"We will now assess the implications of this route cancellation and the longer-term impact for our teams within the airport and the region."

Mr Lyon added: "Be under no illusion, these are extremely challenging times for the aviation industry, but we remain hopeful that by working with our partners, a solution can be found to ensure the airport has a viable and sustainable future."