Argyll and Bute Out of Hours Permit
 

Argyll and Bute Council has introduced an Out of Hours Permit Arrangement for Oban, Coll and Colonsay.

Great news for Oban which shuts at 5 or 6pm. However pretty much all landings at Coll and Colonsay are Out of Hours as it is only licenced for a few hours each week and landings are only permitted outwith the times of scheduled services.

On the surface it's a cut and paste of the HIAL OOH Indemnity. At least until you get to the charges.

HIAL charge £31 and the permit is issued against the aircraft for multiple airports. Owner/operators with multiple aircraft can apply for more than one aircraft at the same time. The cost is still £31.

A&B are charging £35 per airfield and each pilot requires their own indemnity. That means our group of 2 wanting to visit all 3 airfields will be charged £35 x 3 x 2 = £230. Significantly worse for larger groups.

Fortunately it's business as usual for Glenforsa.

They have to pay for that nice new Oban ATC tower and runway somehow!!!:cool::cool::cool:

I visited Coll and Colonsay about 3 weeks ago. I they didn't need any out of hours permits then (At least they never mentioned it when I rang for PPR), and the landing fee was in the order of £15.

Is the out of hours permit brand new? Are the charges on top of the landing fee? Once obtained does it have to be renewed?

Since 1st March I believe.

Renewed annually.

Costs are in addition to normal landing fees.

Hum.....well there goes my idea of returning when I could spend more time on the islands!

Nothing to stop you returning. Its just that it will set you back an extra £35 for each airfield you want to use out of hours.

What's all this about? They gave me PPR for Colonsay on Saturday, no mention of any 'permit'

Probably because you weren't visiting them out of hours?

A fellow group member and I nearly got stuck at Oban the other week which is how we found out about the £35.25 charge per pilot per airport for out of hours use (a yearly charge).

I expect this is also how 140kias found out about the charges... :)

CZ, unlikely that Metoffice was there during operating hours as Saturday and Sunday flights only operate during term time and the kids are still on Easter Holidays.

Also Coll and Colonsay are only licenced during the short windows when the scheduled flight comes. And according to the website entries for Coll and Colonsay "landings are only permitted outwith the times of the scheduled air services".

Therefore it would seem that for whatever reason they are not as yet enforcing the permits which is good news for now at least.

Metoffice - were you one of the several aircraft routing from Colonsay to Fife on Saturday. We were coming south from Plockton and heard them on Scottish Info.

140kias......hope the landrover man bought the meal in Plockton? :cool::cool::cool:

nah - we go dutch nowadays, saves any confusion, however he did buy the ice creams :ok:

He's a good man...:cool::cool::cool:

PPR for Colonsay refused today as I didn't have the necessary indemnity. Sounds like they are now enforcing it more rigorously.

Went to Oban instead - seems like they are using a copy of the Heathrow Ops Manual - only people on the apron but told to call tower for startup :rolleyes:

Why not write to the Scottish tourist board....it seems Argyll and Bute DC are doing their best to disuade tourism!!!!!:ugh::ugh::ugh::ugh::ugh::ugh:

Oh Oh OBAN!
 

Had the delight of visiting Oban last week for a fuel stop! and a potential out of hours TAKING ONES PANTS DOWN out of hours permit!

On paying my landing fee to a delightfull and friendly lady in the new terminal 5 building, I asked at what time did the airfield close? the reply was 5.15.

I needed a further refueling stop later that day so she suggested the out of hours form, after filling the form in I was refused a permit because I had put my business address on the form? The flight was a private flight but the jobsworth of a manager insisted it was for the use of private flights only and by putting my company address on it made the flight a commercial flight.

Thanks guys for screwing my day up by having to return early to refuel and as the manager said be out before 5.15 or else! :ugh:

What a complete shambles and waste of EU money! for christ sake get back to the past of an airfield that was a welcome to visit, great service, with a cabin and a kettle and those great JAMMY DODGERS!!!!! :D :D :D

Its not only the midgys that bite on the west coast !:ugh:

Thanks again to the good service of the guys in Scottish Info and EGPF :D

Last time I was on Colonsay (by rotors) I was a bit surprised to see a light aircraft taking off from the beach next to the airfield. Maybe this is the answer ..... :ok:;)

always a pleasure :cool::cool::cool:

PENNINE BOY: What a disheartening story. I really think you should write to the Council's Director of Transport about this, setting out what constitutes a commercial vs private flight etc etc and spelling out what they should do to encourage more use and therefore more revenue.

I wonder if it might be worth getting AOPA involved too?

NS

A tale of two cities...
 

I visited Oban not so long ago. Fuelling service couldn't have been more helpful or more hospitable. Excellent coffee and biscuits - nothing was too much trouble. Airport management and the tower on the other hand - a complete bunch of dour jobsworths. Rules is rules mentality. Having to call for start clearance is a joke and entirely unnecessary. I know fields with 10 times as many movements which operate perfectly safely without this type of restriction. Why the hell it's PPR as well is beyond me. I've been there a few times (out of necessity rather than desire) and have never yet seen anything like the volume of traffic that might justify this. What a waste of a delightful location which ought to be a pleasure to visit....

Does this also affect Plockton? I was planning on basing myself there for several days this summer.

Also Gigha - likewise.

I used both Plockton and Gigha during my last trip. Plockton was deserted and we found it a great place to base ourselves. The village is lovely - plenty of B&Bs and very welcoming. Excellent food and beer as well. If you'd like details of where we stayed, PM me. Do arrange for someone to pick you up at the airport unless you are happy with a 15 minute walk into the village with your bags.

Gigha was also deserted. Rough looking grass strip, but we were in a helicopter so no problems there. The local pub also gave us permission to land on the grass car park in front of them and we took them up on this invitation during our return trip when we enjoyed a quick sandwich and a drink before heading home.

Used Plockton last month.

Nobody around...an honesty box for your landing fee.

Do try to get PPR a few days in advance, as I found it quite difficult to find anyone to answer the phone....seems that often there is nobody around the airfield.

But once I got through, they couldn't have been friendler or more accomodating.

If you stay at the Plockton Inn, they will collect you from the airport and return you, though it's an easy walk if the weather is nice, and you don't have too much baggage.

Argyll & Bute council have no concept of 'relationship' with their customers.

Generally they try and extract every last drop and can be very contractual in their demands - until it is they that are footing the bill.

A very nasty operation to do business with - try living here !!! :*

Plockton is operated by PDG Helicopters. There is a honesty box on the airfield, just fill in your details and leave the £10 landing fee.

Not been to Gigha yet but I understand that landing fees are payable to the hotel.

Only affects Oban, Coll and Colonsay. However please dont let this put you off as they are all tremendous destinations and worth the effort to visit.

I love Coll and Colonsay and wont be put off by all the schenanigans. Hopefully some of the experiences being posted here will help the powers that be realise that some changes are required.

Plockton & Gigha are both private fields, so not part of the A&B or HIAL schemes.

However, to have all options available in the region, you now need two OOH permits (HIAL and AB) not just the HIAL one of past years. Cost up, visitor flexibility (and arguably safety) down as a result.

h-r

What do mean, I just sent off my applications and it didnt seem any different from previous years.

I even called HIAL to check it was the aircraft and not individuals that it covered.

He means that if you are flying in this area last year you had to apply for out of hours permit to just HAIL.

This year you need HAIL plus Argile & Bute Council out of hours permits to have access to all these airports.

Update from last year. ABC have now restructed the Out of Hours system and there are two types of application, depending upon your insurance.

As well as the way it was last year (named person) they now have a owner/operator application which allows all persons/aircraft named on the insurance policy.

On top of that the charge of £35.25 now covers Oban, Coll and Colonsay.

The guys and gals at Argyll and Bute having been taking a lot of flak but it's great to see that they have listened and acted in this instance. Lets hope it's a sign of more positive things to come.