Air operator Citywing has announced it is suspending flights to Blackpool until at least the spring.
Its last service to the Lancashire resort took place on Wednesday, just before the Squire’s Gate terminal closed to commercial flights.
Owner Balfour Beatty insisted it had no option but to close the loss-making airport after last-ditch efforts to find a buyer failed.
Citywing said it is still hopeful a buyer can be found - and today announced it has decided to suspend booking for flights between the Isle of Man and Blackpool until March next year.
Last year 18,657 passengers used its Blackpool route, making it Citywing’s second most important route after Belfast.
The company said had investigated all reasonable options to keep the North West lifeline open, including detailed discussions with nearby airfields over the possibility of an interim service.
But despite seemingly positive progress, those talks came to nothing.
Citywing managing director David Buck said: ‘It is disappointing that a buyer for Blackpool Airport was not secured by the self-imposed closure deadline.
‘However, we understand there are a number of interested parties looking to buy and re-open the airport. We will continue to work with all interested parties to reinstate this route next spring.
‘Nonetheless, we recognise our loyal passengers on this route need to make definitive travel plans, particularly for Christmas and New Year, and at present we cannot guarantee Blackpool Airport will have been re-opened by then.’
He apologised to customers and assured them that Citywing, which employs 50 staff in the island and carried 63,824 passengers in 2013, would continues to strive to reopen this key service in March 2015.