Loganair Liverpool service widely welcomed

Patient transfers top priority when flights start on Thursday

The health minister says many patients have "actually preferred" booking their own travel arrangements, following the collapse of Flybe.

The regional airline was the contracted provider of patient transfer services to hospitals in the north west of England, until it went into administration last week.

Loganair is to operate a twice daily service between the Island and Liverpool starting tomorrow.

Infrastructure Minister Ray Harmer made the announcement in the House of Keys yesterday saying patient transfers will be a priority.

Health Minister David Ashford says this will have come as welcome news for the Island's patients:

Air travel expert Terry Liddiard is welcoming the new twice daily service to Liverpool which will be operated by Loganair from tomorrow.

However, the former head of Manx Airlines says finding an airline to re-establish the link to Manchester is really important for the Island.

Mr Liddiard says Loganair have good credentials:

Bringing new airlines in to replace Flybe will help provide some stability to flight prices.

That's according to the Chairman of the Office of Fair Trading, Martyn Perkins, who claims the change should give security to Manx passengers.  

Since Flybe's collapse last week, competitor Easyjet has increased its ticket prices, with some nearing £500 for a 20-minute flight to Liverpool.

Residents have been taking to social media complaining of the costs.

Mr Perkins says this is something out of the office's hands: