'Shambolic and poor': Islanders urge Blue Islands to improve their services

• ITV Channel's Phil Wellbrook has spoken to many passengers who are calling for change and greater protection

Airline customers have threatened they will never use Blue Islands again and are calling for the company to improve its services following delays and cancellations of numerous flights.

It comes after customers do not get compensation for the cancellations or delays to their flights because of regional differences in laws.

The legislation means that those departing from Jersey, Guernsey or Alderney are not entitled to reimbursement as the Channel Islands is not part of the European Union or the United Kingdom.

However, the Minister for Sustainable Economic Development, Deputy Kirsten Morel says it is something he will look at.

Blue Islands customer, Conor Walsh had to spend hundreds of pounds after his flight was cancelled to Dublin, he explains: "They called me and said 'we are really sorry but we don't pay any expenses', I replied saying that the company had told me on two occasions you did."

"It was shambolic and the fact they haven't responded to any of my correspondents since then, it is just very very poor, Blue Islands just blanked us essentially."

"It is pretty poor that there is no legislation in Jersey for this, especially because flights get cancelled here quite a lot because of fog or whatever so it is something that should be looked at."

He adds: "We were in the airport for at least seven hours, within a six-year-old so trying to also keep them entertained was difficult and it is stressful."

"A lot of people we spoke to on the plane had similar experiences, or perhaps even worse than ours and they said they would never fly with them again".

Deputy Kirsten Morel says the lack of reliability in flights is worrying, he says: "This is concerning because connectivity is at the heart of everything I have been trying to do.

"Having reliable and frequent connections to the UK and Europe are vital for Jersey's functioning economy."

He adds: "It does highlight the need for travel insurance, we don't have those same regulations here so outbound flights are not protected, but your incoming flights are protected, so it is a slightly strange situation."

When asked if this law is something he would look to introduce, he says: "It is something I am happy to look at but it would mean higher prices as a result and so you need to bear that in mind.

"It is something I would consider but don't plan on changing at the moment."

Chief Executive of Guernsey Cricket, Carl Brooks says he would like to discuss changes the company should make after the team were left stranded in Jersey because of a cancelled flight.

Carl Brooks says: "We want a constructive relationship with them as they're an important partner for us and therefore we have to work with Blue Islands and we want to do that productively.

"So what we can do to help them improve their communications, customer care, and safeguarding approach is something that we'd like to talk to them about."

The Channel Islands airline has apologised and says it is "experiencing supply chain challenges resulting in a shortage of aircraft components."

In a statement, the airline says: "Blue Islands is experiencing supply chain challenges resulting in a shortage of aircraft components and parts which has impacted our and other operators', release of aircraft from scheduled maintenance

"Operational resilience was further impacted by two unforeseen technical issues at the weekend which disrupted flights including Sunday evening’s flight from Jersey to Guernsey."

Blue Islands adds: "A third-party operator has been brought in to support the schedule; there is increased complexity to this process in a post-Brexit environment, adding to the timescale for utilising this type of provision.

"There will also be some schedule adjustments made to provide some operational resilience, any affected passengers will be advised as soon as possible."

The airline continued to say cancellations are the last resort and it apologises to any customers affected.

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