Social distancing on ferries 'potentially catastrophic' for tourism on Isle of Arran

Fears have been voiced that the Isle of Arran will suffer economically as the 4,000 passengers a day who usually travel on ferries in summer months will be reduced by 90 per cent due to social distancing rules.

The Arran Ferry Action Group has warned moves to cut ferry passenger numbers threaten the island’s tourism industry and could be “potentially catastrophic”.

It was estimated that the 4,000 people a day who usually travel to Arran, in the Firth of Clyde, in the summer months would be reduced to just 400.

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Scotland’s stricken tourism sector received a boost last week when the Scottish Government set a reopening date of 15 July, sparking hopes the industry could yet salvage part of this year’s summer season.

Islanders are fearful for the future as social distancing rules mean the 4,000 summer passengers travelling to Arran will be slashed to 400Islanders are fearful for the future as social distancing rules mean the 4,000 summer passengers travelling to Arran will be slashed to 400
Islanders are fearful for the future as social distancing rules mean the 4,000 summer passengers travelling to Arran will be slashed to 400

But there are concerns Arran will lose out on tourism traffic because social distancing measures have led government-backed ferry operator CalMac to drastically reduce the number of passengers it carries on services to the island.

The carrying capacity of the Caledonian Isles ferry has been slashed from 1,000 to 75, if each passenger was travelling alone, on the basis of a two-metre social distancing policy.

The vessel would carry 100 people if a third of passengers is making the trip as a family group or as a pair while maintaining social distancing of two metres.

A second ferry, the Catriona, is able to carry just 12 passengers, down from 150, under the two-metre social distancing rule if each person is travelling by themselves.

That number would rise to 16 if a third of the passengers travel as a family or a pair.

The Arran Ferry Action Group, which has around 1,400 members, warned that the reduced capacity on the island’s ferries is “potentially catastrophic for the island economy”, putting hundreds of jobs at risk.

CalMac has said it has “followed government guidelines on essential ferry travel and physical distancing” at all stages of the Covid-19 response.

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Arran Ferry Action Group spokesman Gavin Fulton said: “Setting aside the economic aspects, normal life on the island is not sustainable with such a limited carrying capacity.”

While up to 4,000 people normally travel to and from the island each day in the months of July and August, the current capacity has been reduced to about 400 under emergency arrangements by CalMac in response to the pandemic.

Mr Fulton said: “Arran is to remain shut - and we are very dependent on tourism.

“There are normally 4,000 a day travelling to and from Arran in summer.

“It is just not sustainable.

“The problem is the vast majority of business is in July and August. After that, it is just a fraction.

“Such a reduction in numbers can only be the result of an over-interpretation of the rules... and a ‘can’t do’ attitude which has been too frequently demonstrated in the past.

“The cramped cabins of airliners are currently flying with greater numbers than this so what possible justification can there be for such limitations in the voluminous cabins and open deck space of a ship?”

A spokesman for Transport Scotland, the national transport agency, said: “We are acutely aware that supporting island communities to move out of lockdown is a complex issue, not least for ferry operators and services.

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“Capacity and logistical issues will be a particular challenge whilst maintaining physical distancing measures, and we are working with operators to understand the impact of this and likely demand for travel.

“We also appreciate that our islands are particularly dependent on many of the sectors worst hit by the impact of the public health measures we had to take to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and many island businesses are struggling.”

Robbie Drummond, managing director of CalMac, said: “We have great sympathy with the position of island businesses, particularly those which rely on tourism, and we have been working with tourism representatives across our network to discuss how we can help them rebuild after Covid.

“As it stands the physical distancing rules of two metres dictate that we can only carry around 17 per cent of our usual passenger numbers, with the car deck restricted to 91 per cent on our large ferries, and our turnaround times will also be longer due to physically distanced queues and cleaning regimes on board.

“We are exploring all options and discussing future timetable options with Transport Scotland.

“However, the decision on who can travel and physical distancing on board our ferries remains a matter of government policy.”

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