Transport / Flights to Central Belt to resume next month
FLIGHTS connecting Shetland to Edinburgh and Glasgow will resume next month as Loganair reopens its timetables.
With transport links across Scotland opening up on Monday (26 April), the regional airline has set out its plans to offer more flights after running a skeleton schedule since Christmas due to coronavirus restrictions.
Flights between Sumburgh and Edinburgh will resume from 3 May, offering travellers a link to the Scottish capital for the first time this year.
There will initially be flights five days per week, excluding Tuesday and Wednesday, before the service is built back to daily by the end of May.
Flights between Sumburgh and Glasgow are due to recommence on 24 May, initially on a limited timetable before building up.
From 1 June people will also be able travel between Shetland and Orkney and Inverness.
Meanwhile, from 3 May combined Aberdeen-Kirkwall and Aberdeen-Sumburgh flights will be “delinked” to provide dedicated services to both Orkney and Shetland.
Loganair said that its FlySafe healthy flying protocols will remain in place on every flight for as long as public health guidelines deem these necessary or advisable.
Loganair chief commercial officer Kay Ryan said: ‘We know many of our customers have been waiting for our services to either resume or indeed start in some cases.
“As the UK’s largest regional airline our network provides much needed connections from the islands to mainland Scotland and beyond.
“We are delighted that travel for both leisure and business will be permitted from Monday 26 April and we look forward to our passengers returning to the skies.”
First minister Nicola Sturgeon confirmed earlier this week that all travel would open up across Scotland from Monday, allowing tourist trade to restart.
In an opinion piece published on Thursday local VisitScotland development manager Steve Mathieson said the industry in Shetland is “keen to demonstrate that they are ‘Good to Go’, ready to reopen and are clean, welcoming and, most importantly, safe places to visit”.
The government is encouraging anyone travelling to Scottish islands to take two lateral flow Covid tests prior to departure.
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