Isle of Man added as regional flights reduced

Monday 28 September 2020

Flights to the Isle of Man have been added to Aurigny's half term schedule, while most regional services around the UK have been jettisoned until the start of November at the earliest.

The States-owned airline has announced some noteworthy revisions to its schedule covering the last two weeks in October, which include the half term school holiday.

Aurigny will be cancelling the majority of its UK regional flying programme between 19 October and 1 November, citing "very low levels of demand" as a result of the 'second wave' that the UK is currently experiencing.

The Southampton service remains unchanged and will continue to operate as planned. 

"Demand for air travel has been further depressed as travellers arriving from a number of areas of the UK and many key European countries are now required to self-isolate for 14 days," said a spokesperson.

Pictured: Aurigny said there was evidence of some people wanting to travel between Guernsey and Gatwick despite the increased restrictions. 

"Within the UK this includes travel from London, a large part of northern UK, Scotland and Wales. With the UK now clearly experiencing a second wave we expect demand for travel to further reduce."

The Isle of Man 'air bridge' is the main winner from the reconfigured schedule. Having told Express last week that the airline was considering reviving the route, it has been named as part of the upcoming schedule. 

"Following the huge success of our Isle of Man services during the summer, for islanders wishing to enjoy a short break over half-term without the need to self-isolate we are delighted to be able to offer flights to the Isle of Man again as part of an ‘air bridge’ agreed by both island governments."

These will initially operate on the 24, 28 and 31 October to cater for three, four or seven-night breaks in either direction during the half term school holidays. If demand for these flights is high, Aurigny said it has the capacity to add additional flights.

Pictured: Aurigny's Southampton service remains unchanged and will continue to operate as per the advertised schedule.

The Alderney schedule will remain unchanged and, as with the Isle of Man route, the airline can increase its services to the northern isle of there is demand for more rotations.

While most of the UK routes have suffered from the increase in restrictions amid the worsening situation in the UK, there continues to be a steady flow of people who want to travel to London Gatwick. 

"We understand that current restrictions are not a barrier to everybody, and some people still wish to travel regardless of the restrictions," said Aurigny. "The volumes of bookings still active on our Gatwick services suggest quite a few people are in this position and to meet their needs we are going to still be operating some Gatwick flights over the half-term period.

"These services will commence from Thursday 22 October for three days and then to facilitate return customers from Friday 30 October for three days."

Pictured: Douglas, the capital city of the Isle of Man.