Închiderea turnurilor de control al traficului aerian din Scoția: fără plan B

1. Federația Europeană a Lucrătorilor din Transporturi (ETF) solicită ca serviciile ATC să fie asigurate în regiune fără discontinuitate.
2. ETF underlines that – contrary to what may seem like a similar situation in London – most of the HIAL airports require access to aviation for medical purposes on a daily basis.
3. Additionally, these airports are utilized for other types of emergency services.

The ETF adamantly condemns the most recent intentions of the company HIAL – operating 11 airports in Scottish Highlands, the Northern Isles, and the Western Isles – of reducing the current level of the controlul traficului aerian services at 6 airports in Highlands and Islands and further centralizing them remotely.

In a letter addressed to the Minister for Transport în Scoția, Mr. Graeme Dey MSP, ETF, pointed out that such a decision would strongly disrupt the local rural communities in the Northwestern part of Scotland, not just through the loss of highly-skilled jobs, but also by potentially losing essential services – such as medical flights – due to the vulnerability of remote tower technology.

ETF considers the Government of Scotland should give up on implementing such a decision and is asking the Scottish Minister for Transport to look beyond the cost efficiency and profit figures of HIAL and focus mostly on the long-term negative consequences of such a decision for its citizens, workers, and broader society in the Highlands and Islands.

The document underlines that the authorities from Edinburgh should not forget even for a second that the safety and the economic development of these communities should come first, especially because they depend on aviation for having assured basic services, it is underlined in the letter ETF sent to the Minister for Transport in Scotland.

The Secretary General of ETF, Livia Spera, who signed the letter addressed to the Scottish authorities, underlined that without having a clear assessment of the socio-economic effects of such a decision, removing the current in-person services will greatly affect the livelihoods of these communities in the Northwest of Scotland, as the airports play a key role for their own existence.