Cheap flights to Highlands still on as Ryanair in talks

HOPES of bringing low-cost Ryanair flights to the Highlands were raised yesterday after talks in Glasgow ended amicably.

The Irish airline and Highlands and Islands Airports (HIAL), the state-owned company which manages the region’s airports, have been involved in a bitter war of words over efforts to run budget flights from Inverness and Stornoway.

Michael O’Leary, Ryanair’s chief executive, recently threatened to walk away from the Highlands if the talks failed to make progress.

However yesterday’s meeting ended with both sides agreeing to continue negotiations and put their public spat behind them.

The meeting was chaired by Calum MacDonald, the Western Isles MP, and included Sandy Matheson, HIAL’s chairman, and Bob MacLeod, the company’s chief executive, along with Michael Cawley, Ryanair’s chief financial officer, and Kathryn Munro, its sales manager in Scotland.

MacDonald said the content of the meeting is being kept confidential, but added: "Both sides agreed to continue the discussions which is something I welcome."

"It was an amicable meeting and it was agreed to draw a line under the ups and downs of the past and to start talking again and continue these talks."

He added: "I would certainly like to see as many operators going in and out of the Highlands and Islands as possible and offering the lowest fares as possible, both for the people of the area and for those who like to travel there. "

The dispute escalated last month when Ryanair took out a full-page newspaper advertisement in which it claimed it was being prevented from introducing services from 29 because of high landing charges.

HIAL hit back, accusing the airline of "petulant and childish behaviour" and said Inverness and Stornoway airports would need 16 million of upgrade work to accommodate the aircraft which Ryanair would use on the routes.

HIAL also claimed that income from landing charges per passenger would fall from an average of 9.86 to 50p under the Ryanair proposals.

Earlier this month John Swinney, the SNP leader, urged the Scottish Executive to intervene and bang heads together" to get Ryanair and HIAL talking again.