Blue Islands re-arranges summer schedule due to 'fleet challenges'

Saturday, 24 May 2025 07:20

28 flights have been axed from Blue Islands' summer schedule due to what the airline calls "fleet challenges".

One of its ATR turbo-prop planes is currently grounded after debris got into an engine, while a new aircraft due to arrive earlier this year was "delayed by almost four months" but should start operating in "a matter of days".

Four of Blue Islands' 18 routes are affected until Monday 21 July: Jersey to Birmingham, Jersey to Bristol, Jersey to Exeter and Guernsey to Southampton.

The company's CEO, Rob Veron, says the "unprecedented" supply chain issues are "by no means unique to Blue Islands", and apologised to customers whose flights were affected:

"Blue Islands is making some temporary changes to its schedule to improve resilience following a recent spell of disruption, caused by fleet challenges. These changes cover the period through to mid-July. This means our customers can have full confidence in the timely operation of the updated schedule.

"We apologise to those that have been affected by the recent disruption and to those impacted by the upcoming changes. We understand the inconvenience this causes, and we wish to assure our customers and stakeholders we are working hard to resolve these fleet issues and fully restore our usual high on-time performance levels.

"The situation is by no means unique to Blue Islands, airlines globally are facing unprecedented supply challenges (from raw materials to engines, major shortages in supply are impacting fleet serviceability and availability of lease engines and spare aircraft)."

Passengers affected by the re-scheduled flights are being contacted by Blue Islands to make alternative travel plans.