An air link to the northernmost airport on the Scottish mainland is being shut following a drop in passenger numbers.
The long-standing Loganair service between Wick John O’Groats airport and Edinburgh is being closed fro March 27.
The Scottish airline blamed a “marked deterioration” people using the Wick-Edinburgh route for onward connections to other parts of the UK and overseas. The coronavirus outbreak has “dealt the final blow”.
Overall passenger numbers on the route fell by a third from 11,357 in 2016 to 7,632 last year.
At the same time there has been significant growth in non-stop services from Inverness airport.
The withdrawal will leave Wick with only one scheduled air service – Eastern Airways flights to Aberdeen.
The viability of the Loganair Wick route was under “serious pressure” even before a drop in demand caused by the coronavirus outbreak, which has now seen bookings fall by a further 17% over the same time last year.
The route has been rendered unsustainable due to the combination of these factors.
This will result in closure of Loganair’s ground handling and customer service operation at Wick, where two staff members will be offered redeployment to alternative locations within Loganair or redundancy.
However, Loganair may revive flights if a Scottish government subsidy can been agreed.
Chief executive Jonathan Hinkles said: “Loganair is not ruling out the possibility of a return to Wick in future, and work has been ongoing between stakeholders for some time to identify options for a Public Service Obligation (PSO) order to be imposed on the route.
“Loganair has participated in a number of the reviews leading to proposals being tabled by local stakeholders to the Scottish government recently.
“Should this result in the creation of a PSO, we would consider resuming services at Wick under that new structure.”
He added: “It’s hugely disappointing that from the end of this month we will no longer fly from Wick.
“Loganair has been serving Wick since 1976, but there has been a steady decline in passenger numbers mirroring the simultaneous growth of non-stop flights from Inverness, and the further drop in demand as a result of coronavirus has dealt the final blow.”