Response to interpellation 2024/25:186 on the daily need for certified air traffic to and from Gotland

Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)

Madam Speaker! Hanna Westerén has asked me what responsibility the state has to secure life-essential infrastructure to and from Gotland and what initiatives I am prepared to take. Hanna Westerén has further asked me what measures I can imagine taking so that the Gotlandic healthcare's need for daily deliveries of samples and blood products can be resolved when virtually no traffic occurs to any airport certified for the purpose.

Regarding the petition from Region Gotland that Hanna Westerén mentions in the interpellation, the Government Offices have responded to it in a letter on 1 November 2024. Regarding questions about permits to transport samples and blood products, it is, just as Hanna Westerén has noted, up to the relevant actors to ensure that the necessary permits exist to carry out the transports that have been agreed upon between Region Gotland and the shipping company.

The government's starting point is that all of Sweden shall function. The possibility to create a good life, to be able to run a business and to be able to start a family in security should exist regardless of where in the country one lives. The conditions for living, residing and working in the whole country shall be strengthened. A well-functioning transport infrastructure strengthens both Sweden's collective competitiveness and regional development.

Gotland has, due to being an island, special challenges for natural reasons. I want to remind that the state takes a large responsibility, among other things through the traffic agreement for the procured ferry traffic. This summer, Trafikverket signed a new agreement for the period 2027-2035. The agreement implies that there will also continue to be a price cap for Gotlanders and goods. At the government's initiative, Trafikverket has recently presented data and assessments of measures regarding the creation of a reserve port at Kappelshamn. Gotland is dependent on both air traffic and ferry traffic, and for that reason, Visby airport is also designated as a standby airport.

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Hanna Westerén (S)

Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister for Infrastructure for the answer.

It is true that I am demanding accountability. I consider it reasonable that the state takes overall responsibility for necessary infrastructure when the conditions for flights to and from Gotland change radically in just a few weeks. I believe that the government should take responsibility for it.

During the pandemic, a short-notice traffic obligation was introduced to secure transports to and from Gotland, and in this case, it concerned exactly samples. Regardless of what is now the case for Gotland, should the government not consider introducing some form of dormant traffic obligation that can be activated when any part of the country is temporarily or permanently cut off or isolated? I believe it would be very beneficial with such a signal of overall responsibility and care for all of Sweden.

Madam Speaker! We have a majority government. That gives power, and with power comes responsibility. I cannot understand why one abdicates this responsibility and furthermore refers to the ferry traffic. I want to think well of people, so even of Infrastructure Minister Carlson. The Minister surely understands that it will be insufficient when his State Secretary first refers to the fact that the necessary daily traffic for samples can take place via Bromma, which lacks certification, and when the pellet finally falls, tells what the government has achieved in terms of the ferry traffic.

Believe me, the ferry traffic concerns me and every Gotlander deeply, and I know that the Minister for Infrastructure is also engaged in it. But for Gotland to function, both ferries and flights are required. For Gotlandic healthcare to function, developed transport chains are required, not least in terms of samples and blood products where daily transports are needed.

November has passed, and we are now in the month of December. So far, Gotland healthcare has had to make do and improvise. Given that at the moment we are left to a double trip to Arlanda and one to Gothenburg a week, helicopters and a huge amount of travel, I keep my fingers crossed every day that nothing goes wrong that causes lives to be endangered because we cannot get what Gotland healthcare needs quickly enough.

How can the Minister for Infrastructure and the government let this continue? Now the year is almost over, and perhaps we can make it through the month. But I want to hope and believe that the government has ambitions in this area, at least given the current security policy situation.

I ask again: What can Infrastructure Minister Andreas Carlson imagine doing to change the situation? I really hope the answer is not "nothing".

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)

Madam Speaker! I thank the member for her commitment and for the recognition she gives both the measures and the urgency regarding the infrastructure to and from Gotland.

The first question of the interpellation concerns precisely life-essential infrastructure. The Member did not mention any specific type of transport, and therefore, in my answer, I wanted to account for the measures we have taken for the ferry traffic, including that Trafikverket has signed a new agreement and that a reserve port in Kappelshamn is being investigated. It is also life-essential infrastructure, so that was the reason for that part of the answer.

We are, of course, following the situation that has arisen very closely and understand that, given the situation, it is a very great effort for healthcare staff. They are making heroic efforts, which we value greatly. At the same time, we cannot escape the fact that it is the region's responsibility to ensure that the necessary permits exist. That there are deficiencies in contracts is not necessarily a matter for the government.

Regarding the introduction of a traffic obligation, it is a tool that the state has, and it is regulated in EU aviation regulation no. 1008/2008. The assessment is that a process to produce a new traffic agreement takes at least five months. There is a so-called emergency procedure in the regulation, but it is only applicable when problems arise on already decided routes with a traffic obligation. With the mechanism and the regulatory framework that exists, we might have had this in place by the beginning of spring. The situation that the member is raising is here and now.

I was at a meeting in the transport ministerial council yesterday, and it emerged that there are now openings to modernize and review the regulation at the EU level. But that is also something that takes time, and therefore there is no immediate tool that the government can use without violating the EU regulatory framework.

Thus we return to the region's responsibility and the agreements that exist. There, people are of course working hard and intensively to be able to handle the situation that has arisen with a few weeks to go. I truly share the member's hope that everything goes well, but with extraordinary efforts from the healthcare staff.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Hanna Westerén (S)

Madam Speaker! It sounds extremely positive that, going forward, new possibilities will be able to be tested, for example regarding dormant traffic obligations or broadening the spectrum of measures that can be available to municipalities and regions.

I still cannot get away from the fact that I get a sense of unreality here. The Minister of State raises several things that are positive for Gotland and are part of a functioning infrastructure, for example, that Visby Airport is designated as a preparedness airport. That is something positive that we are proud of and believe is important. But it does not help that we have a preparedness airport if our healthcare does not have one to fly to and if we do not have a certified airport that is operated during November and December.

Therefore, this becomes a question of preparedness. We in Sweden are, thank God, in a time of peace, but a war is ongoing in our immediate vicinity and the situation can change very rapidly.

So far we have been lucky, and the healthcare workers have made heroic efforts to resolve the situation. But it is constantly on the edge.

I really do not want to be a member who comes to the chamber and complains about how pitiful it is for Gotland and says that we are having such a hard time. I am immensely proud of the constituency that I represent. However, we are not getting away from the fact that Gotland is tiny. It is a small constituency, and the region is Sweden's smallest primary authority. But the Minister for Infrastructure says that it is up to the people of Gotland and Gotlandic politicians to arrange transport of samples and blood products with a few weeks' notice.

I know one should be careful about saying that one didn't see anything coming, but at least I had no idea that Bra and SAS would be merged so that, on very short notice, we were only given one airport to fly to instead of two and that Arlanda, on short notice, would only have a double turn per week. This places incredibly high demands on Gotland. So far, as has been said, heroic efforts are being made, and we may also have had a certain portion of luck. I think it is unreasonable to demand that Sweden's smallest healthcare authority should arrange its own flights.

I appreciate that the Minister for Infrastructure is following the situation closely, but that does not lead to any transports or flights. I wonder how this is actually going to happen. Now, time is almost up. I truly hope that there is no major traffic accident or that Christmas does not become an unusually tough time for Gotland. However, it feels so petty in a welfare state like Sweden to hope for a turn.

I want to believe that we can do better and that we can help each other in situations like these. We should be able to pull in the same direction. I know that I and the Minister for Infrastructure do not agree on all issues, but I had hoped that we could agree on basic infrastructure to secure life-saving transport.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)

Madam Speaker! I believe that Hanna Westerén and I agree on many of the issues regarding essential infrastructure that we have also discussed in the chamber earlier. That was what one of the questions today was about, which made it reasonable to raise the status of Visby airport as an emergency airport.

I refer to previous answers to questions where the member has also noted the regional responsibility. Permits for transporting samples and blood products is a matter for the relevant actors, who shall ensure that there are necessary permits to carry out the transports that have been agreed upon.

I note that some of the proposals the member raises, for example reviewing a system with dormant traffic obligation, are also something that lies further ahead. When a situation like this arises, it perhaps shows the complexity when, according to EU regulations, it is not possible to use the traffic obligation instrument we have. In that case, the entire responsibility falls back on the region.

I know that Bra and SAS have been to Gotland and have had meetings and a dialogue with representatives for Gotland. I hope and believe that these meetings have been important for the situation to become as good as possible. In the end, however, this becomes a question of who has the responsibility, and it is the regions' responsibility.

We are, of course, following this closely, Madam Speaker, but breaches of contract are not necessarily a matter for the government. I also hope that the whole thing will turn out well through major efforts to ensure that it does and that the situation improves in the future. Then we can, of course, discuss such questions as the member has raised, but they do not solve the acutely arisen situation.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Hanna Westerén (S)

Madam Speaker! For the sake of the history books, I nevertheless want to emphasize that Region Gotland had ensured that there was a certified airport. The traffic has gone to Arlanda. As a consequence of the merger of Bra and SAS, two double turns per week go to and from Gotland – one to Arlanda and one to Gothenburg. Gotland would need a double turn every day to either Arlanda or Gothenburg, but preferably to Arlanda. This possibility was taken away from us with extremely short notice and no longer exists. That is what has happened.

We had traffic to a certified airport. But the traffic supply has decreased, and we are left with the consequences.

The answer that came from the department to Gotland showed that they did not know how the situation stood. It is incredibly remarkable that reference was made to Bromma, which does not have the certificates that are needed.

I want to repeat what I began with. Sweden has a majority government, and there is a majority support in Sweden's Riksdag. With power comes responsibility. That makes it possible to solve situations. One can fix and alleviate and ensure that the region does not need to pull off miracles. If one solves things, one can stop hoping for luck.

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Statsrådet Andreas Carlson (KD)

Madam Speaker! I refer to previous entries and thank the member for the commitment.

The interpellations debate was hereby concluded.

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