Anyone flying from the Isle of Man over the past years will have noticed the airlines that have come and gone. Most of these have operated successfully for a number of years, then ended service. With their limited growth options, some have made good targets for takeover by larger airlines. Others have been hit by sudden changes and had limited resources to continue.

It may seem that as an island location, having its own airline would make sense. In reality, other larger airlines have been keen to serve, and the options for local incumbents have been limited. This article looks at the main airlines over the past couple of decades and how they have ended service.

Manx Airlines in 1982

Starting with the largest and longest-serving airline, Manx Airlines was a major airline serving the Isle of Man from 1982 to 2002. It was a joint venture between English airlines British Midland Airways and AirUK. It initially operated Shorts aircraft to mainland destinations and later added the Vickers Viscount, Saab 340, and BAe 146, among several other types.

It ultimately became part of British Airways. The collaboration began in 1991 when it formed a subsidiary franchise carrier for British Airways, known as Manx Airlines Europe. In 2001, British Airways took full ownership of this airline and the main Manx Airlines.

The new airline was known as British Airways Citiexpress (merged together with Brymon Airways), later becoming BA Connect. In 2007, British Airways transferred the airline to Flybe. The photo below shows a former Manx Airlines BAe aircraft operated by Citiexpress.

Manx Airlines in 1953

For completeness, we should also mention an earlier airline of the same name. The original Manx Airlines was a private company established in 1953. It operated several aircraft types, including the Bristol Freighter and Douglas DC-3. It was taken over by UK airline Silver City Airways (later to become part of British United Air Ferries) in 1958.

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EuroManx in 2002

EuroManx was established soon after the takeover of Manx Airlines. It was a private airline started in August 2002. It initially operated with leased aircraft and took on its own aircraft from 2005 – two BAe 146 and two Dash 8 aircraft. It operated to UK destinations, including Belfast, Liverpool, London City, and Manchester.

EuroManx was not taken over. Instead, it was hit by increasing competition on its limited routes from Manx2. Rising fuel prices were also cited as a leading difficulty, with the airline ending services in May 2008.

Manx2 – a virtual airline operating from 2006

Manx2 was established in May 2006 as a virtual airline. It marketed flights under the Manx2 brand, but these were operated by other airlines. As such, it never owned its own aircraft or directly leased any. Nor did it have an Air Operator Certificate. However, some aircraft were operated in its own livery.

Over its six years of operation, it worked with several operating airlines. These included UK-based Links Air, German company FLM Aviation, and Czech company Van Air Europe. As well as services from the Isle of Man to several UK destinations, it also marketed flights in the Irish domestic market.

Manx2 ended service at the end of 2012 after a management buyout. From the start of 2013, flights transferred to the new virtual airline, Citywing. Manx2 Managing Director David Buck continued as Managing Director of the new airline (and led the buyout).

Citywing - a virtual airline from 2012

Citywing was the successor to Manx2. It also was a virtual airline, marketing flights operated under charter with other airlines. Citywing operated most of the same routes as Manx2 from the Isle of Man. It chartered four aircraft from Czech operator Van Air Europe – these were Czech-built Let L-410 aircraft. It also used one BAe Jetstream aircraft from UK Links Air before it ended service in 2016.

Citywing’s demise was due to these tight chartering relationships. Van Air Europe lost its UK operating license after a safety incident with a Citywing flight in February 2017. This suddenly left Citywing with no aircraft. It managed to charter some for immediate operations but lost money and failed to secure anything more long-term. It ended services on 11th March 2017.

Airlines serving the Isle of Man today

Since the demise of the last of these operators, there has been no other attempt at an Isle of Man-based operation. Instead, the island and its commercial airport at Ronaldsway (with IATA code IOM) remain well-served by other airlines. These provide good connections to and from UK domestic locations (for residents and visitors), and of course offer onward connections via these bases.

The Isle of Man is served mainly by three airlines:

• Loganair flies from IOM to Birmingham, Edinburgh, London City, London Heathrow, Liverpool, and Manchester.
• easyJet flies from IOM to Belfast International, Bristol, London Gatwick, Liverpool, London Luton (May-June only), and Manchester
• Aer Lingus flies from IOM to Belfast City (May-June only), and Dublin.

There are also a few occasional flights to Jersey with the airline Blue Islands.

Read more about Blue Islands and its Isle of Man services.

Loganair leads the way in terms of the number of flights (although easyJet would beat it for seats offered). The airline has made several increases in its service there post-COVID, including increased service into London Heathrow from early 2023 (after the airline acquired more slots). It has several partnerships (including with British Airways) for onward connections.

The following data (from Cirium) shows the total number of flights operated from IOM between April and September 2024.

In terms of most served destinations, the following are the weekly departures available from IOM in mid-July:

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The Isle of Man has had quite a few locally based operators over the years. Did you fly with any of them? Would you like to share these experiences, or discuss more about the airlines’ operations and reasons for closing? Let us know in the comments section below.