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Would you visit the Isle of Man if you had the opportunity to fly direct from Jersey Airport?
Blue Islands is currently seeking to answer that question with a survey – and, if it detects there’s an appetite, the airline could add the route to its programme.
Chief Commercial Officer at Blue Islands Tom Barrasin noted that “there are many businesses that operate across Jersey and the Isle of Man.”
However, travel to the Crown Dependency currently requires multiple flights, connecting over UK airports such as Birmingham.
Pictured: Blue Islands is running a survey to gauge interest in a direct Isle of Man route, particularly among members of the business community.
Mr Barrasin said Blue Islands’ new survey, which is open until 18 November, is “designed primarily to better understand the corporate travel requirements, by gathering data regarding current behaviours and propensity to travel, to determine if a viable, sustainable route could be re-established.”
Loganair announced plans for direct Isle of Man flights last year.
However, by summer 2021, it had decided to axe its Jersey services.
Pictured: Loganair, which was due to offer an Isle of Man route, cut its Jersey services last year.
Ports of Jersey’s CEO, Matt Thomas, said at the time that it was a “sobering reminder that we cannot take our connectivity for granted.”
Over summer and autumn 2020, the Isle of Man operated a successful ‘air bridge’ with Guernsey, allowing people to travel between the jurisdictions without isolating, due to the lack of covid-19 cases in either island.
However, it was suspended following an outbreak of seven cases in the Isle of Man that autumn.
While there may be positive news on the horizon in the form of a renewed Jersey route, the Isle of Man’s air links suffered a blow last week when Flybe announced it was pulling out of the island – before it started up its links.
The relaunched airline – which started life in 1979 as 'Jersey European' - was due to start routes to and from London Heathrow and Belfast City and the Manx Isle on Sunday.
However, it announced on Friday that it had been “forced” to cancel due to “delays” in deliveries of Havilland Dash-8 400 aircraft.
Flybe recently told Express it had no plans to return to the Channel Islands in the immediate future.
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