Blue Islands (SI, Jersey) has been forced to remove 28 flights, or 13% of its summer schedule, until mid-July to improve service reliability following recent operational disruptions caused by fleet maintenance and supply chain delays.

The regional carrier's reduced schedule will impact four of its 18 summer routes: Jersey to Birmingham, GB, Bristol International, and Exeter; and Guernsey to Southampton. In a statement, Blue Islands says it will maintain a minimum daily service to Bristol and Exeter and multiple daily services between Guernsey and Southampton, plus safeguard key services such as patient transfers and freight transport.

The airline cited global aviation supply chain problems as the reason for its specific fleet challenges. One new aircraft joining the fleet was delayed nearly four months due to prolonged maintenance by its lessor. A second aircraft remains grounded following engine damage caused by debris ingestion, with parts and replacement engines facing global shortages.

The ch-aviation Commercial Aviation Aircraft Data module shows that two of the airline's fleet of five ATR72-500s, G-ISLK (msn 0634) and G-ISLN (msn 0884), are grounded for maintenance reasons. The airline's first ATR72-600, while already registered in the UK as G-ISLP (msn 1167), remains in pre-delivery maintenance at Exeter.

Despite the setbacks, Blue Islands reported operating 98.5% of its scheduled flights in March, citing UK Civil Aviation Authority data.

Blue Islands operates 214 weekly flights across the Channel Islands and beyond. All other routes (Jersey to Southampton, Guernsey, Nottingham East Midlands, Norwich International, Newcastle International, Paris CDG, Zurich, and Rotterdam, and Guernsey to Jersey, Exeter, East Midlands, Newcastle, Norwich, and Rotterdam) are unaffected.