News / MSPs visit Loganair spares hub
SHETLAND MSP Tavish Scott toured Loganair’s new engineering site at Glasgow airport on Wednesday as the embattled flight operator attempts to boost its reliability.
Scott was joined by Orkney MSP Liam McArthur at the ‘spares hub’, which was launched last year to speed up the supply of parts to Loganair’s fleet of aircraft.
The airline has come under heavy fire over the last year for repeated engineering faults that have caused lengthy delays to disgruntled passengers.
The level of concern was acknowledged by airline watchdog the Civil Aviation Authority when their chief executive Andrew Haines flew into Shetland last month to reassure people that it was safe to fly with Loganair.
During Wednesday’s visit, the MSPs were assured the new facility would allow the airline to respond more quickly to technical faults, rather than having to wait for spares to delivered from Germany.
“Hopefully this will deliver the improvements that are so desperately needed in terms of the reliability of our lifeline air services,” Scott said.
“In addition, plans to make greater use of technology to communicate with passengers is a welcome step in the right direction. This is particularly the case in the event of technical or weather-related delays.”
Loganair’s operations director Maurice Boyle visited Aberdeen airport on Thursday to question if a £20 million upgrade the building will benefit northern isles passengers travelling for hospital visits.
Scott said that the refurbishment cash must be used to improve accessibility for passengers with reduced mobility and discreet waiting areas for patients who may feel unwell and need privacy.
The planned expansion should increase the size of the airport by a half, with new passenger lounges.
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