I picked up an interesting story in the Oban Times about the possibility for a triangular air link between Islay, Colonsay and Oban. The Oban to Colonsay air link started in June 2008 and connects the island of Colonsay and Coll with Oban. A possible new link between Colonsay and Islay would benefit the people from Colonsay most since they have a much faster connection to Glasgow than they have now. This new link could be interesting for Islay as well, both for locals and visitors. Locals would benefit because Oban will be only 30 minutes away and visitors from the mainland would have much easier access to Islay. A possible nice side-effect is that it could become a new tourist attraction if the fares are reasonable. Visitors holidaying on Islay would be able to make a day-trip to Oban and see the Southern Hebrides from above, something that's not available from Islay now and will be a fantastic experience. The force behind this new proposed link is Councillor Robin Currie. Below a quote from the Oban Times article:

Mr Currie’s plan has received vocal support from the islands involved, not least Colonsay residents who have to spend at least two days travelling to and from Glasgow. Councillor Currie said: ‘I have been pushing this proposal a lot harder in the past few days, since speaking to the council and HITRANS and I would like to see a pilot scheme set up sooner rather than later. ‘For the people of Colonsay especially, it would be great to be able to fly to Islay and then get a flight to Glasgow. That would be like night and day for these people who could get to Glasgow in two hours instead of spending two days away. ‘I’m told that people from Colonsay are already getting to Islay any way they can, just to get a flight straight to Glasgow.’ Mr Currie also believes there is enough interest among Ileachs for a link to Oban.

Tag: flights colonsay oban airport