VITAL summer lifeline ferry timetables will be published on Thursday, after being delayed for a month.
Scottish Government-controlled ferry operator CalMac has confirmed that bookings for summer services will finally be allowed on all but three of their over 29 routes.
Island groups had raised concerns that the summer 2023 schedule operated by state-controlled ferry operator CalMac may not be available for booking until March – a matter of weeks before the new season’s sailings are due to start.
Last year online reservations on the timetable opened in time for Christmas, on December 20, 2021 allowing travellers to make their holiday plans.
CalMac had circulated an apology in December over the late publication of the timetable, but did not set a date for when it would be available.
Without the timetables, ferry users cannot book ferry trips to islands off the west coast the end of March, when the summer timetable is due to come into effect.
Now CalMac has that summer timetables from March 31 to October 15 will be available to view and to book from this week, now that Transport Scotland has announced 2023 fare levels.
At the weekend it was announced that fares on ferries serving some of the most remote communities in Scotland will be frozen for six months.
Ticket prices on the Northern Isles, Clyde and Hebrides ferry networks will be held at current levels from April until the end of September in a bid to help people and businesses from Scotland’s rural and island communities recover from disruption to services.
Cancelled ferries over recent months have resulted in issues with delivering supplies to islands.
CalMac said that timetables for all routes will be able to be viewed on the website on Thursday.
Bookings will then open on Friday 20 except for the three routes operating from Mallaig, which are due to open for bookings by January 31.
It is understood those services are to Armadale on the Isle of Skye, to the Small Isles of Mallaig, Eigg, Muck, Rum and Canna and to Lochboisdale on South Uist.
CalMac said that additional time was needed to finalise times for the Mallaig routes due to the number of tidal amendments required and the "complexity" of operating three services from the one berth in Mallaig.
It said that it was also looking to to finalise timetables for the last week of the summer timetable -the period between October 16 and 22 October inclusive).
They said these will be made available as soon as possible, once community consultation and work to finalise vessel deployment during the start of the annual overhaul period has been completed.
Robbie Drummond, chief executive of CalMac, said: “I am very pleased to be able to announce the release of the summer timetable for 2023, but apologise for the late publication. We understand the impact this has on island communities and local businesses.
“The publication of the timetables will be welcome news to the communities we serve and to visitors, who can now plan their summer holidays.
“I am grateful to all our customers who have been waiting for longer than usual for this news and thank them for their continued support and patience.”
It comes after the CalMac winter timetables were published five months late - leading to widespread concerns over lost bookings and business.
At the time, the transport minister Jenny Gilruth said there had been a hold up because of arrangements over the closure of Uig harbour on Skye to allow for upgrades over the winter - which sparked a row over island services disruption.
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