Another UK regional operator, Blue Islands, has suspended operations barely two weeks after the demise of Eastern Airways.
Blue Islands had been operating a fleet of ATR turboprops on services connecting the Channel Islands with primarily UK and Irish cities.
The carrier states that it has “suspended trading”, effective from 14 November.
“All future flights operated by Blue Islands have been cancelled,” it adds. The UK Civil Aviation Authority advises the carrier’s passengers not to travel to airports because “flights will not be operating”.
Blue Islands has a codeshare with Channel Islands operator Aurigny on certain routes.
The company traces its origins back more than 25 years, to a Britten Norman Islander cargo service flying as Le Cocq’s Air Link.
It developed into a passenger operation under the name Rockhopper, before adopting the Blue Islands name in 2006 and branching into British Aerospace Jetstream turboprop flights.
The carrier stepped up to the ATR 42 in 2009 and the larger ATR 72 four years later, and transformed into an all-ATR operation.
Blue Islands became a franchise partner of prominent UK regional carrier Flybe, but was forced to revert to a standalone carrier after Flybe itself ceased operations in early 2020.
It had been planning to operate from Jersey and Guernsey to seven UK destinations – among them Leeds-Bradford, East Midlands and Newcastle – as well as Dublin and Paris Charles de Gaulle during 2026.
Scottish carrier Loganair as well as Aurigny are amending their networks to maintain Channel Islands connectivity, including medical links. Loganair says its measures will ”lead to establishing a new permanent operating base in Jersey”.
After Eastern Airways halted operations, one of its public-service obligation routes, a link to London Gatwick from Newquay, was taken over by regional operator Skybus, which had indicted plans to use a Blue Islands ATR for the connection.
