Left high and dry
We are deeply concerned regarding the treatment of Islay and Jura visitors and residents over the past week by Calmac Ferries and by the lack of interest shown by Transport Scotland.
Visitors who have long since booked and paid for ferries to Islay have had their journeys cancelled and told that due to “technical difficulties” the vessel has been taken off the route. We have written evidence of a suggestion to one visitor to just cancel their holiday and not to worry as “the hotels will be so busy with people stuck on the island that they should go elsewhere and that they won’t have to pay for cancellation”.
Elderly people and families with children with cars full of prams, cots etc have been told their only option is to travel as foot passengers to an island with little public transport and a limited number of hire cars. Accommodationproviders are lending their own cars to customers and driving people around to avoid their holidays being spoiled.
The hundreds of people who have had their holiday cancelled at the last minute are hardly likely to make a journey to Islay next year, while prospective customers learning of these regular problems are unlikely to even consider the islands as viable destinations.
Islay has suffered for many years with lack of capacity on ferries, and this current situation has occurred at least once a year for the past eight years, with further disruptions adding to uncertainty on what seems an increasing frequen- cy, yet still Calmac insists on building ferries that don’t fit all the routes that they operate. Two 100m ferries that will not fit the Islay link-spans are the latest to be ordered.
We ask that this situation is rectified as soon as possible and that our visitors and our residents, many of whom work very hard to produce the whisky that contributes a massive amount to the economy of Scotland and the United Kingdom, are treated with some consideration and given a ferry service that is fit for purpose. JOHN CONNOR, DAVID GRAHAM, JAMES MCEWAN, DUNCAN ANDERSON,
JACK FLEMING, CATHERINE FOTHERINGHAM, ALAN & ISOBEL GRAHAM, JOYCE
& MALCOLM HALL, JEAN CONNOR, MARGARET & IAN BROOKE, JOAN & PAUL GRAHAM, IAIN SHAW, AMNA CAMPBELL, IAN & MARION
SPIERS, JENNIFER HUSTHWAITE, ROBERT & RONA DALY, ISLAY MACEACHERN, STUART & CLAIRE PROVAN, CATRIONA BELL, JACQUELINE BROWN, AND ANDREW & PAUL SHAW