The First Minister has been urged to intervene amid concerns over the reliability of Loganair services.
In the latest incident to affect the airline's flights, a plane travelling from Glasgow to Sumburgh, Shetland, with 13 people on board was forced to make an emergency landing on Wednesday after one of its engines was shut down.
Liam McArthur, Liberal Democrat MSP for Orkney, said services run by the company were a "lifeline" to his constituents.
Speaking at First Minister's Questions at Holyrood, he said: "For those of us living and working in the Highlands and Islands, Loganair is the only provider of scheduled air services.
"They are a genuine lifeline for many businesses, patients travelling to hospital appointments, as well as the wider public.
"Yesterday yet another Loganair flight was forced to make an emergency landing, the second in less than a week."
He called on Nicola Sturgeon to make direct representations to the airline and agree to meet with its chief executive.
"Will she stress again that regaining public confidence in the reliability and safety of these services must be the number one priority?" he said.
Ms Sturgeon responded: "I agree absolutely with Liam McArthur. The services that are provided by Loganair are, as he has just described them, lifeline services.
"They are absolutely vital to those who live in our island communities and there are real concerns about performance, and yesterday's emergency landing of course caused considerable concern, not least for those who were on that plane.
"As he has alluded to himself, (transport and islands minister) Derek Mackay is discussing these concerns and these issues with Loganair and we will continue to do so and demand that these issues are rectified.
"I would be very happy to ask Derek Mackay to keep Liam McArthur fully appraised and I am more than happy to directly make the views off the Scottish Government known to the chief executive of the company because we expect the highest standards for people who rely on these services."
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