Following the announcement last week that Eastern Airways will be closing its crew base in the Isle of Man, the airline has now confirmed that it will be withdrawing its two routes from the Island.
Eastern will cease operating its flights to Birmingham and Newcastle at the end of August, with its last flights on the routes on 23rd August.
The Isle of Man to Birmingham route will continue to be flown by Flybe, which will increase the number of flights it operates on the route in September.
In addition, following the confirmation by Eastern of its termination of the Newcastle service, the Airport has been in active discussion with other operators about the possibility of taking over the route.
Eastern’s decision to cease flying these routes follows a period where many airlines have struggled to maintain traffic levels during the current recession.
Eastern has been hit particularly hard with the decline of business passengers on both of its Isle of Man routes, with its Birmingham service, which has been successful for the airline since it started on the route in February 2004 and has carried over 114,000 passengers, recently operating with only about 35% of seats filled.
Similarly, the Newcastle flights, flying 38,000 passengers since late 2003, have latterly been less than a third full.
Ann Reynolds, Airport Director, admitted that the news from Eastern was very disappointing for the Airport, but fully understood the commercial reasons for Eastern’s decision.
"Passenger numbers have fallen for Eastern, during these tough times, to the point where it has been unable to sustain both routes profitably," she said.
"Eastern has provided a consistently high standard of customer service on both of its Isle of Man services and I know that the airline’s very special approach will be missed by many regular air travellers to and from the Island."
Eastern carried over 17,600 passengers on the Birmingham route in 2008, about 35% of the route total, and 6,100 between the Isle of Man and Newcastle.
Although the airline only carried less than 3% of the Isle of Man total passenger numbers, it has been an important and valuable part of the airline community for the Island.
Despite the confirmation of the withdrawal of Eastern, Minister for Transport David Anderson MHK remained positive about the future of air services from the Island.
"The withdrawal of Eastern from these routes is a sad occasion for both the Airport and the Island, but it is reassuring to confirm that the Birmingham route will continue to be served twice daily by Flybe," he said.
"In addition, our Airport team remains hopeful that we will be able to encourage an operator to maintain the important link with Newcastle."
The Minister added, "If the opportunity arose, I would hope Eastern would consider new route opportunities to and from the Island that may well arise in the future."
