Highlands and Islands MSP Ariane Burgess has called for greater parliamentary oversight after three publicly owned airports in the region were used by the United States military without the prior knowledge of the Scottish Government.
Speaking in the Scottish Parliament, the Scottish Green MSP said Wick John O’Groats Airport, Benbecula Airport and Stornoway Airport, all operated by Highlands and Islands Airports Limited on behalf of ministers, were involved in supporting a US-led operation to seize the oil tanker Marinera.
According to information raised in Parliament, three US Air Force U-28A special operations aircraft flew from Wick to support the operation.
Two V-22 Osprey aircraft were hosted at Benbecula, while a Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft operated from Stornoway.
Burgess said ministers were not informed in advance of the aircraft movements.
She told Parliament:
“We own these airports.
“The communities of the Highlands and Islands fund them and rely on them.
“When they are used for foreign military operations without our knowledge, that is a democratic failure.”
The MSP also referred to the wider consequences of the Marinera operation, stating that 28 sailors were detained in the Moray Firth for several weeks without charge and that a Court of Session interdict was ignored.
Two individuals were subsequently removed from Scotland, and it has since been reported that the vessel’s captain has been indicted in the United States.
Burgess highlighted concerns raised by residents in Lewis about the noise of V-22 Osprey aircraft, which are significantly louder than conventional helicopters.
She also pointed to sensitivities in Wick, where the airport has only recently resumed regular service flights to Aberdeen after a period of disruption.
“This is a pattern, not an anomaly,” she said.
“Our publicly funded infrastructure is being drawn into foreign military actions, and this Parliament is being kept in the dark.
“Scotland must not become an unmonitored military staging ground.”
The Scottish Green MSP is now calling for a formal oversight mechanism to ensure that publicly owned airports are not used for foreign military operations without the knowledge and consent of the Scottish Government and Parliament.
