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Minister for Transport submission of 5 October 2021

PE1804/NN - Halt Highlands & Islands Airports Ltd's Air Traffic Management Strategy

Thank you for your letter of 10 September 2021 to Michael Matheson MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport, about Petition PE1804: Halt Highlands & Islands Airports Ltd’s Air Traffic Management Strategy. I am responding as this issue falls within my Ministerial portfolio. Taking each of the points the Committee is seeking an update on in turn:

The status of the project and whether the project is still on budget

HIAL has recently had informal discussions with Prospect which have encouraged both to find a mutually agreeable solution for the delivery of the ATMS programme. These talks are in the very early stages and any proposal as a result will have governance, cost, and regulatory issues that would need to be addressed before any proposal can go through a consultation process. Prospect has agreed that there will be no further days of strike while these talks are ongoing. In the meantime work on the ATMS programme will continue as HIAL strives to address structural issues in Air Traffic Control (ATC) that necessitates the modernisation of ATC services in the Highlands and Islands for the benefit of passengers, airlines, other airport users and the wider economy of the areas served by the airports which are part of this programme.

A budget of £48.4 million for the programme was agreed with Transport Scotland’s Investment Decision Board on 9 December 2019. This comprises anticipated capital expenditure of £34.7 million and revenue expenditure of £13.7 million. As with any major project of this type, this budget will be kept under review as the programme progresses.

When a decision by the CAA on Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) is likely

HIAL have had many discussions with the CAA around the direction of travel towards a more cooperative surveillance approach (which ADS-B is one element of such a system). The CAA has not, however, given HIAL a firm timeline for implementation.

GRAEME DEY