Director Rob Veron said: “We’re excited to see the first of our ATRs in its new Flybe livery. This marks a significant moment in our transition to becoming Flybe’s third franchise partner. In total, four of our five ATR aircraft will be re-painted as we adopt the Flybe brand.”

Bookings for Blue Islands-operated flights can be made now at flybe.com including connecting flights to UK and European destinations in one booking.

Mr Veron added: “We firmly believe this franchise partnership with Flybe will secure a robust and sustainable array of services for our islands. In addition to our direct services, ‘through tickets’ with a single booking mean easy connections to over 30 UK and European destinations and significant savings on APD (Air Passenger Duty).

“As a franchise partner, we will be able to put Guernsey and Jersey on the radar of potential new visitors.”

Existing Blue Islands customers booked for travel from 6 June and onwards will have their bookings transferred to the new Flybe services. The only change will be a different flight number and booking reference; all other details including customer’s free baggage allowance and flight times remain the same and no further action is required. Bookings made for travel up until 5 June inclusive can continue to be made at Blueislands.com.