Highland Airways fall into administration
Grounded: Highland Airways have been forced into administration
It has been confirmed this morning that troubled airline, Highland Airways, has been placed into administration.
The airline’s Western Isles PSO route has been cancelled from this morning, with no flights today and no further booking being taken. It has not yet been confirmed if the service will run tomorrow, although it is considered unlikely.
Chairman of the Transportation Committee at Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, Donald Manford spoke to Am Pàipear: ‘I am extremely disappointed that Highland Airways have had to come to the difficult decision of calling in administrators,’ he said.
‘Discussions are ongoing and it will be for the administrators to decide what it intends to do with regards to the service while it administers the company. But the primary consideration for the council is to ensure that the service continues with as little disruption as possible.’
Leader of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, Angus Campbell said: ‘The situation at Highland Airways poses serious problems for islanders who rely on the inter-island services which the airline provides. As it is not clear what will happen to Highland Airways in the immediate future, the Comhairle is exploring options to see if alternative arrangements can be made to maintain the inter-island air services which Highland Airways provided until today.’
Bruce Cartwright, speaking on behalf of the administrator, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, said: ‘The company had encountered trading difficulties including the loss of certain contracts.
‘As a result they were in discussion with a number of parties over a period of time with a view to developing a new and viable operating model. The directors have now concluded that the option of maintaining operations while introducing a new investor is no longer feasible.
‘As administrators we are conscious that Highland Airways provided a valuable service and we will be working with contracted customers to ensure an orderly handover of services to new operators wherever feasible.
‘It is inevitable that there will be a substantial number of redundancies but we will endeavour where feasible to assist the work force in securing employment with the new service providers.’
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