Food and accommodation payments made to disrupted CalMac passengers soar by 55 per cent

Food and accommodation payments to CalMac passengers caught up in ferry disruption has increased by more than half in three years, new figures have shown.

The total amount paid by the Scottish Government west coast operator increased from £202,462 in 2021-22 to £314, 494 - or 55 per cent. It was £306,223 in 2022-23.

Passengers board CalMac's MV Glen Sannox on its first full day in service (Picture: John Devlin) | John Devlin/The Scotsman

The figures comprise accommodation costs, which can only be claimed if sailings have been delayed or cancelled by non-weather causes, and also payments for snacks, meals and refreshments, which can be claimed regardless of the cause.

But the Scottish Conservatives, which published the figures in response to a Freedom of Information request, attributed the entire £823,179 total to problems with CalMac’s ageing fleet.

The party had requested figures for accommodation payments only, but CalMac provided combined figures for “passenger rights claims for meals and accommodation” because it said accommodation figures were not recorded separately.

Scotland’s transport links are the lifeblood of the nation - subscribe today to our Transport newsletter

Passengers can seek repayment for a drink after 90 minutes’ delay, a drink and snack after four hours, and a drink and a meal after eight hours and every subsequent four hours.

The Scottish Conservatives claimed: “Taxpayers have been forced to pick up a tab of more than £820,000 in just three years to pay for food and accommodation for CalMac customers caught up in the SNP’s ferries chaos.”

But CalMac said the figures referred to a combined total of food, drink, and accommodation without a breakdown of what was due to weather and what was due to technical issues.

Scottish Conservatives’ transport spokesperson Sue Webber criticised the Scottish Government for “betraying islanders by failing to procure reliable ferries”.

Delays to the completion of new vessels have left the rest of the fleet struggling to cope, with some ferries out of action for extended repairs, such as Caledonian Isles, which has been off the main Arran route since January last year.

Ms Webber said the “decrepit” CalMac fleet had “decimated tourism, the day-to-day lives of entire communities and saddled Scottish taxpayers with soaring costs”.

She said: “This eye-watering bill for Scottish taxpayers should shame SNP ministers – because it stems directly from their incompetence.

“SNP mismanagement has left CalMac with an ageing, unreliable fleet, which means that it’s a roll of the dice whether lifeline services will be late or cancelled.

“These cancellations have a devastating impact on betrayed islanders, who are regularly unable to get to work or hospital appointments.

“Then there’s the impact on the local economy, because tourists are either put off visiting our islands or delayed in getting to and from them.”

A CalMac spokesperson said: "We're operating more sailings than ever before, with many of our vessels operating at their limits to provide services.

“When disruption does occur, we do our utmost to get customers on alternate sailings or routes to reach their destination wherever possible.

“When that isn't something we can do, we have a robust passenger rights policy in place to ensure affected customers are compensated for food, drink and, when appropriate, accommodation costs they incur.”

The spokesperson said technical issues and cancellations would be reduced as a further 12 new vessels were introduced by 2029 following Glen Sannox, which joined the main Arran route in January.

A Transport Scotland spokesperson said: “The Scottish Government is investing in six new major vessels to serve Scotland’s ferry network by 2026, alleviating the need for extensive repairs on older vessels and improving reliability. Last month the contracts were signed for a further seven new smaller vessels.

“To improve service in the short term, we have also purchased the MV Loch Frisa and chartered the MV Alfred. We continue to work with operators and CMAL to improve resilience across our networks.”