We should know in the next two to three weeks which routes Flybe will retain and which will go when it closes its island base.
But there’s also a question mark over early morning flights on surviving routes if the airline chooses not to stable aircraft here overnight.
Questions about Flybe’s plans to close six regional bases including that at Ronaldsway from the end of March next year dominated this week’s House of Keys sitting.
Questioned over the impact of the closure, Infrastructure Minister David Cretney said despite looking to shut the base and make most of its island staff redundant, Flybe is keen to stress it will continue to fly scheduled services to and from Ronaldsway.
But Mr Cretney, who alongside Chief Minister Allan Bell raised concerns at a meeting with the airline’s chief executive office Saad Hammad last week, added: ‘At this stage the company has not declared which routes it will continue past March 31, 2014. I believe this news will be forthcoming over the next two to three weeks and until their determinations are concluded we can only speculate on the effect this may have on businesses and tourism.’
Mr Cretney said the company was forced to make drastic cuts to try to secure the future of the business as a whole.
He said Mr Hammad had made it clear that only one of its routes out of Ronaldsway is profitable - the Manchester route.
He told MHKs that Mr Hammad was asked if there was an opportunity for island-based staff to transfer to the Manchester base but be permanently rostered to Manx routes - allowing them to continue living here, save on redundancy costs and provide savings on overnight stays incurred by nightstopping aircraft using Manchester crews.
The Minister said: ‘The chief executive said they would look at this proposal. However, it would be dependent on how the aircraft were scheduled as it is unlikely one aircraft would fly to and from Ronaldsway the whole day as happens now.’
It is understood, however, that Mr Hammad told staff during his visit last week there are no plans to stable aircraft here overnight. If all aircraft have to fly in from the UK first, this could have an impact of early morning services.
Mr Cretney told the Manx Independent: ‘He spoke about the costs of overnight staying here but I don’t think anything is finalised yet.’
He said his department was also talking to a number of alternative airlines should Flybe choose to drop some of its routes.
This would include the patient transfer service to Liverpool, for which Flybe signed a three-year contract, worth £1.6m a year, only in September.
He told MHKs: ‘We made it very clear to Flybe that we understand there’s an obligation. However, if it’s obviously going to change in some way we understand others may be able to take up such a service.’
Mr Cretney said he had met on Monday with senior executives from BA CityFlyer and remained confident of a ‘satisfactory outcome’ to talks over restoration of early morning flights to London City, a service currently cut to one flight a day.
Questioned earlier about the impact of Flybe’s base closure, Treasury Minister Eddie Teare voiced misgivings about a suggestion that governent should set up an airline run on a franchise basis.
‘I would be very concerned if government became involved in an airline company. There would be a temptation to interfere in schedules and fares,’ he said.
The island has endured a year of bad news about its air links.
All links to Scotland have ended.
Flybe is to pull out of London Gatwick in March next year, removing four flights a day from the airport.
While EasyJet has increased its, the flights will be less frequent and at less convenient times.
BA CityFlyer has reduced its London City service from three times a day to one.
CityWing has pulled out of Leeds and Oxford.