It’s holiday season, but are the issues with flight cancellations putting Manx people off going abroad?

The Isle of Man Examiner asked the public on the promenade whether travel disruptions have changed their plans and when was the last time they were off the island.

Neil Ferns, from Onchan, last went abroad in March with his family to Tenerife, and had planned to go to Malta later this year, but is now changing his plans.

He said: ‘We were going to go on another holiday mid-August, hoping to go somewhere like Malta, but we rescheduled because of the chaos with the flights getting off the island and obviously the UK as well. So now we’re going for a week in Newquay, Cornwall instead.

‘I’ve looked at the direct flights to Palma recently but they were all fully booked, so maybe next year I’ll be looking at that to cut out the Isle of Man bit.

‘We’ve been using the ferry on our last two trips just to make sure we get off the island.’

‘The amount of flights that get cancelled off the Isle of Man it’s just not worth it.’

Elizabeth and John Maddren, from Leeds, are on holiday in the Isle of Man and haven’t been affected by any travel disruption.

Mrs Maddren, who is returning to the island for the first time since 1956, said: ‘Everything with our travel has been spot on, including the trains in the UK and the flights.

‘The big difference between back when I last came and now is Douglas beach, I remember as a kid it was heaving with holidaymakers, but now people go to Spain for cheaper and guaranteed good weather.’

Mr Maddren, 79, said: ‘We were actually very impressed with the travel and transport here, the bus service has been great and we’ve been all over.

‘The island is also very reasonably priced compared to England, I’m very impressed with it.’

Derek and Barbara Jones, from Onchan, avoided travel problems when arranging a direct flight to Majorca in June.

Mrs Jones, 72, said: ‘There’s no overnight stay and there’s no worry about missing a connecting flight because of fog.’

When asked whether there’s any plans for another holiday later this year, they said: ‘We were thinking of going to Turkey and just see how all the flight chaos pans out really. We would also want to go to The New Forest [in Hampshire, UK], it’s a lovely idea.’

Stephen Douglas, from Marown, is planning on avoiding the hassle of travel disruption by not going abroad, instead opting for a vacation in the UK.

Mr Douglas said: ‘We’re going on a driving tour around Yorkshire and Northumberland, me and my wife, and we’re not going any further than that this year.

‘We’ve got an office in Manchester and I do a lot of work in Dublin and London, and because I travel a lot with work my experience has been that the planes have been late a lot, the airports are busy and I think a lot of flights are being cancelled.

‘It just feels like too much of a hassle, a holiday is supposed to be relaxing. Will we get there? Will we not? Will we have to stay over somewhere. We don’t really want to go through the hassle.

‘It all sounds very negative but I probably have these experiences because I’m travelling almost every week, and some of the airports have been brilliant. I have to say Gatwick airport has been absolutely fine for me, but Manchester airport has been dreadful, I’ve been avoiding it.’