News / Every little helps, says Tesco
FOLLOWING days of ferry cancellations the first supplies of fresh produce in three days arrived in Shetland on board a Hercules freight plane, on Saturday afternoon.
In an unprecedented move, supermarket Tesco hired the cargo plane to help them restock empty shelves in their Lerwick superstore.
Loaded with 75 cages of fruit, vegetables and other perishable goods, the Hercules, dubbed ‘Air Tesco’, touched down at Sumburgh airport at about quarter past two.
The cages were quickly unloaded into waiting trucks while hail showers lashed down.
The company hopes to complete three more such cargo flights over the weekend.
Store manager Paul Clelland said the company had to shift eleven trailers waiting at Aberdeen harbour back to Livingston where they we resorted and then taken to Edinburgh to be loaded on to the freight plane.
He denied the move was a costly PR exercise and insisted the company wanted to give its many island customers as good a service as possible in difficult conditions.
“This is our busiest time of the year and Christmas is very important for our customers.
“It is the time that they are spending with their friends and family, and we just needed to be looking at an alternative way of bringing stock to the islands.
“It is little things like that where we can reward our customers for their loyalty. At the end of the day it is an opportunity for us to use our scale to deliver some benefits to the people of Shetland,” Clelland said.
Meanwhile the stormy weather is set to continue until at least Monday, with the Met Office issuing an amber warning for Sunday when severe gales are expected to reach storm force with gusts of 80 miles per hour, as well as heavy rain, sleet and snow over higher ground.
Ferry operator NorthLink said they were still hopeful to be able to commence services as of Sunday.
The company said the Aberdeen to Lerwick service was expected to sail on Sunday evening, while the Lerwick to Aberdeen leg was more likely to only resume on Monday morning. (For the latest update click here)
A updated announcement is expected on Sunday morning. Further details can also be obtained by phoning the company on 0845 600 0449, log on to their website at www.northlinkferries.co.uk or follow them on Twitter at @NLFerries.
Northlink managing director Stuart Garrett said: “High winds and waves mean it is not currently safe to sail but we are watching forecasts very closely and believe it may be possible to sail late on Sunday.
If we can operate services that would allow people to travel for Christmas we will.”
More pictures of the Hercules landing at Sumburgh can be found here.
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