Loganair has made its first foray into Eastern Europe by providing
charter flights to allow key oil and gas workers from Latvia and Poland
stranded in Aberdeen by the Covid-19 lockdown.
The Scottish airline has won charter contracts, valued at a
six-figure sum, with two unnamed companies in the North Sea oil and gas sector.
They involve flying personnel from Riga airport in Latvia and Gdansk airport in
Poland to and from Aberdeen for shifts on the companies’ response and rescue
and supply vessels serving North Sea platforms.
Before the coronavirus outbreak began, the companies flew
hundreds of Latvian and Polish seafarers to Aberdeen on a complex series of scheduled
flights. Governments then introduced travel restrictions to stop the spread of
the virus, leaving the crews stranded far from home.
Loganair this week flew the first of these crew members home
on its Embraer Regional Jets and brough the replacement crews back to Scotland.
The initial contract runs until mid-May, with the possibility
of continuing the relationship past this date.
Fiona MacLeod, Loganair’s director of charter services,
said: “The approach from these companies came right out of the blue. They
explained the current crews had been forced to work beyond their allotted
month-long shift due to the lack of scheduled flights home and it was
imperative that their shift changeover be allowed to go ahead.
“We of course wanted to help, but it was easier said than
done. As we delved into the logistics of the service required, we had to engage
in negotiations with the Ministry of Transport in Latvia and the prime minister’s
office in Poland before we secured permission to fly to and from Riga and
Gdansk. That has now been done and we have permission to operate charter flights
to and from both airports over the next month, with the obvious hope the
arrangement will continue beyond that date whether or not the Covid-19
restrictions continue.”
MacLeod added that Loganair has experience flying oil and
gas workers from Aberdeen to Shetland en route to their North Sea employment on
both scheduled and charter flights. The airline’s recent purchase of Embraer
jets has allowed it to extend its range to mainland Europe.
Loganair has continued operating a limited schedule throughout the coronavirus crisis, as it provides essential services to and from many island and remote airports across the UK. It has also re-purposed some of its aircraft to accommodate medical isolation pods for the transport of Covid-19 patients from these remote airports.