Scotland’s Loganair restores island routes after emergency funding approved

Loganair restores weekday flights between Inverness and Scottish islands from 26 October 2026
The Scottish Government provides £1.06 million in emergency funding for the routes
Loganair covers the remaining £240,000 of the funding gap
The package safeguards routes through April 2027
Restored routes include Inverness to Stornoway, Kirkwall and Sumburgh

Loganair has been fully restoring its key weekday flights between Inverness and the Scottish islands starting 26 October 2026. The decision follows the Scottish Government agreeing to provide over £1m in emergency funding to support the financially strained, loss-making regional routes. The airline had made a controversial decision in July 2026 to slash weekday flights connecting Inverness to the Western and Northern Isles.

Loganair’s chief executive, Luke Farajallah, explained the routes were losing money due to high fuel and maintenance costs. He stated the privately owned airline could no longer fly them without government support. The sudden cuts sparked immense worry across Scotland, with health boards and local councils noting that nearly 90% of island patients rely on morning flights to access crucial mainland healthcare. Without these flights, returning home on the same day became impossible.

A joint financial deal was brokered, with the Scottish Government providing £1.06m to Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd (HIAL) to ease operational costs. Loganair will cover the remaining £240,000 of the funding gap. This temporary package safeguards the routes through April 2027. The funding ensures the standard daily frequency returns for three critical paths: Inverness to Stornoway (Lewis/Western Isles), Inverness to Kirkwall (Orkney), and Inverness to Sumburgh (Shetland).

The department shared: “Loganair is fully restoring its key weekday flights between Inverness and the Scottish islands starting 26 October 2026. The decision comes after the Scottish Government agreed to step in with over £1m in emergency funding to support the financially strained, loss-making regional routes.”