LOGANAIR will be adding more flights to its schedule in the coming weeks as non-essential travel rules to Scottish islands start to ease. 

The Scottish airline have been maintaining a number of scheduled links for essential passenger travel throughout the pandemic, but following the First Minister’s recent announcement of changes to Covid-19 rules on travel to and from Scotland’s island communities, they have now set out plans to re-build connectivity. 

Flight changes 

For May 3, flights from Edinburgh to Kirkwall and Sumburgh will resume for the first time this year, initially with services on five days each week daily, except Tue/Wed. 

Weekday evening services linking Glasgow with Campbeltown, Islay and Stornoway will all resume, and combined Aberdeen-Kirkwall and Aberdeen-Sumburgh services are to be de-linked to provide dedicated services to each community. 

The Herald:

Three weeks later, from May 24, Edinburgh services to Kirkwall and Sumburgh will increase to daily.  Glasgow services to Kirkwall and Sumburgh resume, initially with limited service before building up to daily flights during June. 

Also on that date, dedicated Glasgow-Benbecula services resume at weekends, which have been shared with Stornoway during the pandemic. While Edinburgh-Stornoway flights will retart, initially on Mondays and Fridays before building up to a daily service during June. 

From June 1, Inverness-Stornoway services move from one to two flights each weekday, restoring a day return capability in each direction, while Inverness services to Orkney and Shetland shall resume. 

In addition, Loganair will progressively re-start services on over 30 cross-border routes linking destinations in Scotland with Manchester, Birmingham, Southampton, Exeter, Newquay, Belfast City and other points in the coming weeks.  

Some routes – including Aberdeen/Birmingham – have already resumed, providing connectivity to and from the Scottish islands.  

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Kay Ryan, Loganair’s Chief Commercial Officer, 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.”