Scottish airline goes into administration: Redundancies 'inevitable', firm warns

WORKERS at Highland Airways face an uncertain future after the airline today confirmed it had called in administrators.

• All Highland Airways flights have been cancelled

The Inverness-based firm, which employees around 100 people, cancelled all flights with immediate effect this morning.

A spokesman warned that the a "substantial number of redundancies" were probable.

The airline flies from Inverness and Orkney to the Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland. It also operates a route between Cardiff and Anglesey in Wales.

Administrators PriceWaterhouseCoopers will begin assessing the company today.

Joint administrator Bruce Cartwright said: "The company had encountered trading difficulties, including the loss of certain contracts.

"As a result, they were in discussion with a number of parties over a period of time with a view to developing a new and viable operating model.

"The directors have now concluded that the option of maintaining operations while introducing a new investor is no longer feasible.

"It is inevitable that there will be a substantial number of redundancies but we will endeavour where feasible to assist the workforce in securing employment with the new service providers."

Passengers who had been expecting to travel in the coming weeks are being contacted about the development, and the Civil Aviation Authority has been informed.