With Citywing’s last flight to Blackpool taking place yesterday (15th October 2014), and continuing delays in a sale of Blackpool Airport being concluded by outgoing owners Balfour Beatty, Citywing has decided to suspend booking for flights between the Isle of Man and Blackpool until March 2015.

Once a sale of Blackpool Airport is confirmed, Citywing will look to work with the new airport owner with a view to restarting operations between Blackpool and the Isle of Man from 29 March 2015.

Citywing has investigated all reasonable options to keep this North West lifeline open, including detailed discussions with nearby airfields regarding the possibility of an interim route from the Isle of Man. Unfortunately, despite seemingly positive progress, it was concluded that a scheduled operation could not be accommodated.

At present, a number of options are being considered with regard to the re-opening of Blackpool Airport. However, the uncertain timescale of any transaction, and the need for the new owner to re-licence the airport, means that a potential re-opening will likely take place in early 2015 rather than by the end of this year.

As a result of this, to enable passengers to make alternative arrangements for travel from the North West to the Isle of Man during this winter, Citywing has reluctantly decided to suspend its service between the Island and Blackpool until next spring.

Citywing Managing Director, David Buck, said: ‘It is disappointing that a buyer for Blackpool Airport was not secured by the self-imposed closure deadline. However, we understand that there are a number of interested parties looking to buy and re-open the airport.  The route has been a key air link for many families in the Isle of Man, and for the communities of both the Island and the North West, for over 70 years and we will continue to work with all interested parties to reinstate this route next spring.

‘Nonetheless, we recognise that our loyal passengers on this route need to make definitive travel plans, particularly for Christmas and New Year, and at present we cannot guarantee that Blackpool Airport will have been re-opened by then. We will issue further updates as matters progress.

‘We apologise to the many thousands of loyal customers who have travelled on this route with us for the inconvenience and disruption caused by Balfour Beatty’s decision to close the airport, and we can assure that Citywing continues to strive to reopen this key service in March 2015.’

See www.citywing.com for updates.