Smaller aircraft to be used on Wick to Aberdeen flights

A smaller than expected aircraft is being used on the relaunched air service between Wick and Aberdeen.

Air Charter Scotland have taken on the route after Eastern Airways went into administration with flights starting on Wednesday.

The company had designated a Netherlands registered 18-seater Jetstream J32 aircraft for the route, but it said an issue had emerged last week which meant it would not be available until 1 March.

In the meantime a smaller seven-seat Beech King Air 200 aircraft will be used.

Dragonfly Aviation Services will initially operate the six days a week service with that smaller aircraft.

From Monday to Thursday there will be return flights in the morning and they will also run on Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons.

Air Charter Scotland was awarded the contract to run the public service obligation (PSO) route after Highland Council launched an emergency procurement process.

The local authority has said it was exploring the option of extending the contract to include flights from Wick to Edinburgh.