Airline Flybe has announced it will close its base in the Isle of Man with the loss of 49 jobs.
There is no news yet on how the closure will affect services out of Ronaldsway.
But Flybe said it remained committed to serving the Isle of Man and insisted passengers could ‘continue to book with confidence’.
In a statement, Flybe said it was consulting with the trade unions on proposed base closures at Aberdeen, Guernsey, Inverness, Isle of Man, Jersey and Newcastle.
This would result in 49 redundancies at Ronaldsway.
There will also be 12 job losses at Aberdeen, 52 at Belfast, 49 at Birmingham, 49 at Edinburgh, 116 at Exeter, 12 at Guernsey, 37 at Glasgow, 35 at Inverness, 35 at Jersey, 13 at Manchester, 17 at Newcastle and 17 at Southampton.
Chief executive Saad Hammad said: ‘It is a matter of great regret that many valued and hard-working colleagues will leave the company and that we are having to close our base on the Isle of Man. The proposed redundancy process will be done fairly in order to deliver an equitable outcome for all employees involved, to provide the best possible platform for future company growth and secure the long term employment for the remainder of our staff.’
Airport director Ann Reynolds described the move as a ‘big blow’ to staff.
‘I’m still awaiting details on the services,’ she added.
The move follows Flybe’s announcement on Monday that it was looking to cut 500 jobs, reduce bases and rationalise its route network.
A statement from the airline said: ‘A review of the number of Flybe bases, to remove surplus aircraft capacity wherever necessary and improve aircraft and crew utilisation, has determined that Flybe will no longer have a requirement to base aircraft on the Isle of Man with effect from March 31 with the proposed loss through redundancies, following consultations, of 49 of its 51 employees.’
It added: ‘Flybe remains fully committed to delivering unrivalled regional connectivity throughout the UK to and from the Isle of Man and can reassure its passengers that they can continue to book with confidence.’
The British Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA) described the move as a ‘blow to the entire profession, and to the UK’s transport infrastructure’.
General secretary Jim McAuslan said: ‘Flybe needs to get back on the right track, but it is extremely disappointing that redundancies will be needed to do that. We will be working with the company day-in, day-out to keep compulsory redundancies to an absolute minimum and to help pilots who have loyally served the company and its passengers find new jobs.’
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Are Isle of Man flights and base under threat by Flybe job losses?
