Blue Islands pre-booked passengers need to apply for refunds

Customers booked on flights will therefore need to pay again to secure a ticket and should refer to the Civil Aviation Authority, www.caa.co.uk, for information on refunds, or contact the credit card company that was used for the original payment.

The island airline says that it 'continues to work hard to overcome some of the challenges caused by the collapse of its former franchise partner'.

Funds from all future bookings for Blue Islands-operated services made via Flybe are currently being held by Flybe’s merchant card acquirers. These controls were put in place to safeguard passenger funds should Flybe collapse.

However, this means that the original booking for a Blue Islands service made via Flybe is no longer valid and needs to be rebooked.

Blue Islands CEO Rob Veron said: 'We understand that the collapse of Flybe has left many passengers worried about their travel plans, and we apologise to our customers for the uncertainty and inconvenience that this has caused.

'We would like to reassure our customers that our schedule is operating as normal and thank our customers for their support and understanding, and our staff for their hard work during this time.'

Passengers with bookings on Blue Islands-operated services travelling this weekend can go to the airport with their booking confirmation and check-in as normal. Blue Islands will honour these flights without further payment.

Any customers without a booking wishing to travel this weekend are able to book and pay for tickets at the airport of departure.

Passengers are now able to book again via www.blueislands.com.