Loganair chief apologises for poor ‘on-time performance’ in Northern Isles

Loganair’s CEO has apologised to passengers in Orkney and Shetland and committed to improving service levels following a “difficult” month.

Jonathan Hinkles admitted the airline had struggled throughout April, due to “high levels of Covid absence” among staff members.

The airline’s on-time performance for Orkney flights struggled throughout April, dropping from an average of 89% between January and March, to 74%.

Shetland routes were no better off, with numbers dropping from 80% between January and March, to 61% in April.

Mr Hinkles noted that 90% of flights were on time in between 2020 and 2021 and the airline was “working hard” to restore those levels.

He also addressed the issue of ticket prices, pointing out that although the airline provides “lifeline” services, it does not benefit from the subsidies that some ferry operators receive.

Mr Hinkles said: “Loganair’s 60 years of service to communities across Scotland has been forged through delivering for our customers through thick and thin. Today, our focus on getting service levels back to where they need to be is absolute.

“Early indications are that we are making good progress to restore our strong track record – 90% of flights were on time in the Covid years 2020/21 and 2019, we achieved 86%. Those kinds of industry-leading levels are where we strive to be today – and we’re working hard to get there.

“There’s a huge amount of work ongoing right across Loganair, and recent days have proved that the road out of the pandemic is certainly proving tougher than the one-way street in. Yet the whole Loganair team is committed to delivering the service that we offer to our customers, and I’ve every confidence that this will very quickly be back at the levels both you and I would expect.”