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Lewis-Benbecula air service to be cut to two days a week

Getty Images Benbecula AirportGetty Images
Flights to Benbecula from Lewis take about 20 minutes

Flights on a council-subsidised air service in the Western Isles are to be cut from three days a week to two.

The islands' council - Comhairle nan Eilean Siar - funds 90% of the £620,000 annual cost of flights between Stornoway in Lewis and Benbecula.

It said it was struggling to finance the current three-day service on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

The council intends to reduce the number of days from 1 July, with flights on Tuesday and Thursdays only.

Flights take about 20 minutes, while the journey by road is almost four hours long and involve taking a ferry trip.

The council said pressures on its transport budget included a shortfall of more than £200,000, which it has had to cover using money from its reserves.

It has called for Scottish government help with the cost of the flights. Government policy is that the provision of an air service wholly within a local authority boundary is a matter for that council.

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Council transport chairman Uisdean Robertson said he believed the service justified funding from Transport Scotland.

He said: "The service is not used by a high enough number of passengers to make it commercially viable and provides transport to hospital patients which surely meets the criteria of providing important connectivity."

Paul Steele, the council's leader, said: "If we lose the Benbecula to Stornoway flight it will be quicker for individuals in Uist to get to London than to visit friends, family and colleagues in Stornoway.

"Inter-island connectivity is crucial to the continued growth of the islands and must be enhanced not forgotten."

The Scottish government agency Transport Scotland said: "The provision of supported air services within the Western Isles is a matter for Comhairle nan Eilean Siar.

"The Scottish government already provides indirect support to the Benbecula-Stornoway service through our subsidy of Highlands and Islands Airports Limited, which operates both Benbecula and Stornoway airports.

"Comhairle nan Eilean Siar also receives funding from the Scottish government through the Local Government Settlement which includes need in relation to air transport."