Blue Islands Collapse Strands Channel Islands Flyers

Published on Nov 17, 2025, 8:41 am CST

7 min read

Key points

Blue Islands has suspended all flights from Jersey and Guernsey after ceasing trading on November 14, 2025
The collapse removes roughly 9,200 weekly seats on six routes linking the Channel Islands with Southampton, Bristol, Exeter, East Midlands, and Guernsey
Loganair and Aurigny are adding rescue flights and planning longer term services, but same day options remain limited in the near term
Most travelers will need to claim refunds through card chargeback, Section 75 protections, package operators, or travel insurance because Blue Islands is not yet in formal insolvency
Travelers can keep Channel Islands trips on track by using replacement flights, alternative UK airports, and ferry links while allowing extra time for connections and weather delays

Impact

Flights And Routes: Expect reduced direct capacity and occasional sold-out days on core Jersey and Guernsey links to Southampton, Bristol, Exeter, and East Midlands for at least several weeks
Refunds And Claims: Contact your card issuer or bank first, then your insurer, and keep proof that Blue Islands has stopped operating while formal insolvency is still pending
Package Holidays: If your Blue Islands flights sit inside a package, work through the tour operator for rebooking or refunds rather than trying to fix flights yourself
Medical Travel: Patients traveling to Southampton for treatment should follow guidance from local health authorities, who are rebooking priority cases on replacement services
Booking Strategy: For upcoming trips, favor airlines already adding capacity, consider flexible tickets into alternative UK airports, and secure ferry or hotel space early

Blue Islands' decision to suspend trading on November 14, 2025 has grounded all flights overnight and left Channel Islands travelers to rebuild their own itineraries. The regional carrier, which operated turboprop services between Jersey, Guernsey, and several UK cities, has canceled every future flight and is telling customers not to go to the airport while it considers its next steps.

For travelers, this is a connectivity shock rather than a new security risk. The U S State Department's travel advisory for the United Kingdom remains at Level 2, exercise increased caution due to terrorism, with no change linked to the airline's collapse. The immediate issues are lost seats, limited same day alternatives, and a refund process that runs mainly through banks and insurers.

Blue Islands And The Channel Islands Network

Blue Islands had spent more than two decades as a lifeline regional carrier for Jersey and Guernsey, operating a small fleet of ATR 72 aircraft from bases at both airports. In the week of November 10, OAG data shows the airline flying about 136 weekly services and 9,200 seats on just six scheduled routes.

Those routes linked:

Jersey with Guernsey, Bristol, East Midlands, Exeter, and Southampton
Guernsey with Southampton

When all flights stopped at once, every nonstop air link Blue Islands provided on these city pairs disappeared, even though other airlines serve some of the same destinations from the islands or nearby airports.

The carrier's statement to passengers is blunt. It confirms that trading has been suspended, all future flights are canceled, and customers should contact the bank or card provider used to pay for tickets, or work through travel agents and tour operators in the case of package bookings. Governments in Jersey and Guernsey had previously provided financial support, but both have now declined further funding, which Blue Islands says forced the immediate shutdown.

The collapse comes on the heels of other regional failures in the UK and Europe, including Eastern Airways and Icelandic low cost carrier Play, underscoring how exposed small airlines remain to fixed costs and soft demand.

Latest Developments

The first wave of response has focused on plugging the biggest gaps, not on fully restoring the previous schedule.

Loganair has announced rescue fares for stranded travelers and plans to take over core Blue Islands routes. From Sunday, the Scottish regional airline is selling special fares on Jersey to Guernsey, Jersey to Exeter, Jersey to Bristol, and Jersey to Southampton, with a Guernsey to Southampton service planned once it secures the necessary permits. Loganair's chief executive has also signaled an intent to establish a permanent base in Jersey to provide a more resilient long term operation.

Aurigny, already a key Guernsey based carrier, is operating additional flights and one way rescue fares on selected sectors to help move passengers who were holding Blue Islands tickets. Local authorities are treating some island to mainland links, particularly to Southampton, as essential for both residents and medical travel, which is likely to keep pressure on governments and airlines to maintain a minimum level of service.

Even with these moves, capacity is not yet back to where it was. Timetables are still being rebuilt, aircraft and crews need to be repositioned, and there are only so many slots and turboprops available on short notice. Travelers looking for same day replacements on former Blue Islands city pairs will find some days with no nonstops, or only awkwardly timed options that require an overnight stay.

Refunds, Rights, And What "Suspended Trading" Really Means

From a legal point of view, Blue Islands has stopped flying but has not yet been declared insolvent in court. That matters because some formal protections, such as insolvency schemes that rely on a court order, are not triggered until administrators are appointed.

In the meantime, passenger rights flow mainly from how the ticket was purchased. The UK Civil Aviation Authority is telling travelers that all Blue Islands flights are canceled and urging them not to go to the airport, while directing customers to seek alternative travel and to claim refunds from card issuers, package providers, or insurers.

ITV and consumer groups in the Channel Islands outline a practical sequence. Travelers who paid with a Visa or Mastercard debit card can try a chargeback claim, which allows the bank to reverse a transaction within a set time limit, often 120 days from the flight date or the date of collapse. Those who used a UK credit card and spent at least £ 100.00 may have additional Section 75 protection, which makes the card provider jointly liable with the merchant for non delivery of services.

Because Blue Islands has not yet gone into formal administration, the CAA is preparing a "negative response letter" that customers can use as evidence that the airline has stopped operating. Banks may ask for this document to process chargeback claims.

If the flight sat inside a package holiday, the tour operator, not the airline, is usually responsible for providing a replacement journey or a refund, subject to package travel regulations. Travelers should contact the holiday company before making their own arrangements, unless immediate repatriation is essential.

Travel insurance is a backstop, not a first line. Some policies cover scheduled airline failure, others do not, and pre existing disruption clauses vary, so travelers will need to check policy wording closely.

Practical Workarounds For Reaching The Channel Islands

In the short term, getting to or from the Channel Islands will take more planning, especially on peak days or around medical and business travel peaks.

On the air side, Loganair and Aurigny are the most obvious options, because both are actively adding services in response to the collapse. However, capacity is finite, and some flights will sell out quickly. Travelers should search across nearby UK airports, including Bournemouth and other regional fields, rather than focusing only on previously used departure points.

Where practical, combining air and sea can restore trips. Ferry operators continue to link Jersey and Guernsey with Poole and Portsmouth in southern England, with typical sailing times of 3 to 10 hours depending on route and ship. A traveler might, for example, fly into a better served airport such as London Gatwick or Manchester, then connect by rail or car to a south coast port for a ferry to the islands.

Within the islands, local authorities and health services are prioritizing medical travelers who rely on direct links to Southampton General Hospital. Officials in Jersey report that support teams are contacting affected patients and rebooking flights based on medical urgency. Anyone traveling for treatment should wait for or request direct guidance from the hospital or health department before trying to rebook independently.

Because the underlying UK travel advisory remains unchanged, the main travel risk is operational, not security related. Channel Islands trips are still feasible, but they demand more buffer time in itineraries, a willingness to accept connections instead of nonstops, and close monitoring of new schedules as Loganair and Aurigny ramp up.

Final Thoughts

Blue Islands' collapse removes a small but critical piece of the Channel Islands' air network, cutting thousands of weekly seats that locals and visitors relied on for work, healthcare, and tourism. Replacement services from Loganair and Aurigny are already softening the blow, yet gaps in timing, frequency, and route coverage will persist until new bases and schedules are fully bedded in.

Over the next few weeks, the most important decisions for travelers are not about safety advisories, which remain stable, but about how early to book, how much connection risk to accept, and how aggressively to pursue refunds through banks and insurers. Anyone with near term plans to or from Jersey or Guernsey should act now, line up alternative routes, and keep documentation handy, because in a capacity squeeze, the prepared traveler gets the remaining seats.