Loganair has cut flights to remote parts of Scotland as rising jet fuel prices squeeze margins. Scotland’s largest airline has scrapped some services to the Outer Hebrides and Shetland, with a 10-15% reduction in winter services compared to the summer. Kerosene costs have risen more than 50% above levels seen before the Iran war. Lifeline services to Stornoway on Lewis, Sumburgh on Shetland and Kirkwall in Orkney have been impacted.
Further cuts possible
There could be more bad news to come. Loganair is reviewing its wider network and has not ruled out further cuts. A Loganair spokesperson said: “This deeper than normal winter capacity adjustment reflects a need to reduce flying in the face of both seasonal demand reductions and a very challenging business environment with significant fuel price rises which is impacting all airlines.”
Last week, Ronnie Matheson, Loganair’s chief commercial officer, told the Scottish Parliament’s transport committee that it was making an average profit of £4 per customer, thanks in large part to the historically high cost of jet fuel.
Managing costs
“This is about managing our costs and retaining financial sustainability through a tough winter period ahead. We have made the decision to trim a number of flights out of our network. This is a fairly normal practice for winter but this year we have stepped that number up,” he said.
While Loganair will still fly to all the destinations on its current schedule, some of these will be served less frequently. Journey times will increase considerably on some routes, with stop-offs added on journeys to Edinburgh as Loganair looks to combine routes. Mr Matheson added: “We’ve tried to minimise cancellations and maintain a service to our island base as smooth as we possibly can.”
Winter timetable
The Winter 2026 timetable is effective from 2 November 2026. Loganair says that fuel prices are up almost 130% year on year and that the reduction in flying will "create additional capacity for planned maintenance, improve fleet readiness ahead of Summer 2027, and allow aircraft and crews to support growing charter and energy-sector operations."
Customers affected by cancellations or schedule changes will be contacted directly and will be offered alternative Loganair services where available or a refund.
Wider industry impact
Loganair is not the only airline to cut its schedule. Last week, easyJet announced that it would trim its winter capacity by 1.4%, or about 700,000 seats. This is on top of an already announced 700,000 seat reduction. Ryanair is also cutting its capacity by 4% while warning that jet fuel prices could stay at this level for next year.
