Calls made for flights to Faroe

A Loganair plane landing at Sumburgh.

A councillor has quizzed Loganair on introducing flights to Faroe in recognition of its close cultural connections.

Shetland South member Alex Armitage asked airline bosses about launching new routes at Tuesday’s external transport forum.

Dr Armitage said he was “incredibly proud” there were direct flights to Bergen and asked whether these could be extended to the winter months.

“Faroe is another of our close cultural neighbours,” he added. “What would be the process of starting to consider flights to Faroe, given that you have started flying to Belfast and Manchester?”

Chief commercial officer Luke Lovegrove said his team considered new and expanded routes on a “daily basis”.

He said such decisions were chiefly led by underlying demands, which is why the airline was committed to maintaining the Bergen route – and enhancing it with an additional flight on Wednesdays during summer.

For Faroe, however, Mr Lovegrove said there were “limitations” including the runway length and obstacles on the approach.

“We have very high safety standards at Loganair and we need to make sure we go into airports where that is not going to be compromised,” he said.

Mr Lovegrove said he would look further into the specifics.

“But at the moment we don’t have any plans for the Faroe Islands,” he added.

Loganair currently operates 126 flights every week serving 10 destinations.

Mr Lovegrove said the new destinations – Belfast and Manchester – served via Inverness were selling well.

He said the airline was looking to expand into new destinations next year and there would be more to report at the next forum in March.