High levels of Covid-related absence among Loganair crew has led to the temporary suspension of one its Isle of Man to London City flights.

The absences of Isle of Man-based crew means the suspension of one of Loganair’s two daily flights will last for a two-week period.

The Isle of Man to London City operation remains in place each evening (Sunday to Friday), and this suspension will only impact the morning flight from Monday to Thursday, which is the service fewer passengers use.

Heathrow, Manchester, and Liverpool flights remain unaffected and will continue to operate as normal.

On Thursday the airline contacted customers and liaised with the island’s authorities to make them aware of the change, which is effective from May 16 to 29.

Passengers have been offered alternative travel including Loganair’s afternoon service to London City which continues and to London Heathrow.

Customers affected during this period will also receive compensation in line with EU regulations.

The airline is working to increase its pool of suitably qualified crew but as they must complete training specific to London City Airport there will be a two-week gap until full capability is restored.

This follows a number of early morning departures from the island having been delayed this week.

Wednesday saw the cancellations of both the London City and Manchester routes.

Chief commercial officer for Loganair Kay Ryan said: ‘We recognise that this isn’t where anyone would have wished to be, and I’m very sorry that we’ve arrived at this as the only viable alternative.

‘The objective is to fix this as quickly as we can and that does include all of our Isle of Man-based crews being able to operate to London City airport.

‘The sickness levels were unexpected, obviously, and we are deeply disappointed to have had to take this step, but it is also crucial that we provide our customers with certainty.

‘We have already established alternative flights for our passengers and are contacting all those who have booked the morning flight to discuss their options.’

Ms Ryan said that Covid continues to cause major disruption across the travel sector and Loganair is ‘unfortunately not immune to this’.

She added: ‘However, we are committed to reinforcing our resilience and ensuring our customers get to their destinations.

‘Our 60 years of service to communities across the UK has been forged through delivering for our customers through thick and thin.’