Slump hits 1 in 3 jobs at oil airport

SHETLAND’s oil airport at scatsta is set to cut staff by almost a third over the next few months as the slump in oil prices continues to hammer the offshore industry.

airport operator serco confirmed is seeking to cut its 107-strong workforce by 25 to 30 per cent by the end of the year.

The news comes only days after Bristow, which flies helicopters offshore from scatsta, announced 130 job losses in both shetland and aberdeen.

Recent figures show hotel occupancy rates i n aberdeen have dropped by more than 13 per cent on last year , another apparent sign of a downturn.

scatsta airport has seen rapid growth over the past 20 years, with its workforce expanding more than threefold on the back of increased activity offshore.

a multi-million pound investment programme over the past five years has given the airport a new terminal, control tower, hangar and naviga - tional aids.

But the collapse in the oil price last year has seen major job losses and efficiencies to save money being introduced across the industry.

For example, fewer flights will now be needed to service the three week on/three week off shift pattern which replaces a two week on/three week off system.

Oil companies shell, Petrofac and Inquest are no longer planning to fly workers offshore from shetland.

as a result serco is looking for voluntary redundancies a nd offering to redeploy staff within the airport or elsewhere within the multinational’s giant empire, which includes the NorthLink ferry service between the mainland and Orkney and shetland.

some staff have left and are not being replaced, while others have started retraining in other posts, such as air traffic control officers.

But the company only expects half of the required number of redundancies to be met voluntarily.

airport director John Thorne said: ‘We are in discussion with the unions and employees and it is very impor - tant that employees know first how this will affect them and when.’

shetland Islands council’s development committee chairman alastair cooper said he was concerned about the airport’s future ‘ because it is a very significant employer in the area’.

Meanwhile, BP has reasserted its ‘ current commitment to flights at scatsta’.