Dundee air traffic controllers face 270 mile round commute to centralised hub
HIAL has selected a site in Inverness which means staff at seven Scottish regional airports will operate from the one area
Air traffic controllers in Dundee will soon face a 270 mile round trip to work as Inverness gets chosen as HIAL's centralised base.
The move means staff at seven Scottish airports will operate from the one site - the first time it's been done in the UK.
David Avery from trade union Prospect believes the Tayside staff will be upset with the decision.
"Workers in Dundee have been against this project from the start. In part because they will have to be relocated from Dundee, taking these high paid jobs out of the economy, moving their families and disrupting their lives.
"There's simply no need for it to happen, this could all be delivered in Dundee without having to move people to Inverness."
Dundee will be the last airport to make the transition by 2027.
As part of the centralisation, Dundee will require a two-controller position operation: a remote tower and an approach radar position, similar to Inverness and Sumburgh.
In order to deliver services from these two positions, an increase in staff will be required, from the seven in the current operation, to 14.
HIAL bosses are confident they can work with staff to find an agreement which suits both parties.
"We recognise the disruption for the Dundee staff and the potential disruption for all of the staff," said HIAL managing director Inglis Lyon.
"That's why we're holding a series of consultations, initially collectively and ultimately individually to try and arrive at a solution for these members of staff so that disruption is kept to an absolute minimum.
"This gives us the opportunity to introduce surveillance, which we don't have at the vast majority of aerodromes.
"By introducing this we will enhance our safety performance."