ARGYLL and Bute Council must do more to secure the future of airline services to Coll, Tiree and Colonsay, MSP Michael Russell has said.

The services to the islands are set to be suspended from May 16 due to negotiations between Argyll and Bute Council and Hebridean Air Services Ltd (HASL) breaking down.

Russell has asked the Scottish Government for help in resolving the dispute, which he said was “unnecessary and damaging” to the local community, adding that the resumption of the service was essential.

HASL informed the council that it would have to suspend services due to new European Union rules, but talks between the two broke down due to disagreements over subsidiary payments.

The council has claimed HASL is not “willing to compromise” over the changes to the Western Isles' flight service. The council added that the bid made by HASL was “well over” the council’s three-year budget of £2.121 million.

Russell has said that it is up to the council to do more, highlighting the impact that halting the service will have on communities. “I am astonished that the Council has let things get to this stage in negotiations that have been going on for some considerable time, particularly as I understand that the gap between the council’s position and the company’s position is now very small,” he said. He claimed it would result in many schoolchildren on the islands not being able to get home at weekends and said services were vital for resident islanders, the tourism industry and also utility providers, such as the various phone and power companies.

He said: “This is a problem that should never have happened, and Argyll and Bute Council need to sort it now. Waiting a year would be totally unacceptable and deeply destructive for the islands and all those who live there."