One of Loganair’s two daily flights between the Isle of Man (IOM) and London City (LCY) is being suspended for two weeks. The airline has blamed the reduction in service on staff shortages due to Covid-related absences.

Loganair increased its Isle of Man to London City services to twice-daily Monday to Friday at the start of May, however, the temporary suspension of one of the daily flights will start next week. Passengers booked to travel on the affected services have been informed and offered alternative arrangements.

Many airlines have been feeling the impact of Covid-related absences. For Loganair, the situation is further complicated by the fact that pilots need specific training to be able to fly into London City Airport due to the steep approach and takeoff in place, further reducing the pool of available crew. The airline has said that it is working to get more crew online as quickly as possible.

In a statement, Loganair’s chief commercial officer, Kay Ryan, said,

"The objective is to fix this as quickly as we can and that does include all of our IOM-based crews being able to operate to London City airport. The sickness levels were unexpected, obviously, and we are deeply disappointed to have had to take this step but it is also crucial that we provide our customers with certainty.”

Connecting the Isle of Man to London

Loganair flies from the Isle of Man to both London City and London Heathrow Airports, using its 70-seater ATR 72-600 aircraft. Both routes are operated as part of a codeshare agreement with British Airways, allowing passengers to connect to a wide variety of international flights.

Daily services to London Heathrow started in early May 2022, at the same time as the second-daily London City service was introduced. The latter provided a same-day return option for business travelers, and it is this new additional service to London City that has been primarily affected by the staff shortages.

About Loganair – the UK’s largest regional airline

Loganair began flying in February 1960, and recently celebrated its 60th anniversary. It has since grown to be the largest regional airline in the UK today by passenger numbers and fleet size.

The airline has operating bases at Glasgow Airport, Aberdeen Airport, Inverness Airport, Edinburgh Airport, and Newcastle International Airport. Currently operating a fleet of 45 aircraft, Loganair has a further three ATR 42-500 aircraft and four ATR 72-600 aircraft on order.

Following the collapse of Flybe in March 2020, Loganair took the opportunity to start operating many former Flybe routes.

As travel recovers and passenger numbers increase significantly, the aviation industry across the world is seeing similar issues with staff shortages. This has led to long lines at airport security and flight delays, as well as a number of cancellations.

We are now entering the peak summer season, and both airlines and airports will be working hard to minimize the impacts on themselves and on their passengers.

Have you flown on one of Loganair’s new routes between the Isle of Man and London? Share your experiences by commenting below.

Discover more aviation news here.