Skybus (United Kingdom) (8Y, Land's End) has changed the wet-lease operator for its public service obligation (PSO) route between Newquay and London Gatwick to Universal Air. The Maltese carrier has been deploying DHC-8-Q400 9H-MMW (msn 4114) on the route since January 15, 2026.

Skybus chief executive Jonathan Hinkles said on LinkedIn that the 78-seat Q400 will continue to operate the route until the second quarter of 2026, when Skybus is due to induct its first in-house ATR72.

"Our long-term aircraft is targeted for the second quarter. We have operator courses planned in March with our technical partner Aurigny Air Services for Skybus' Newquay-based ATR pilots and cabin crew, who can’t wait to fly again after the collapse of Eastern Airways. Their local employment, key to long-term delivery of the PSO, has been safeguarded in the meantime," Hinkles said.

The Cornish carrier secured the PSO in November 2025, stepping in after the collapse of Eastern Airways. It initially planned to wet-lease an ATR72 from Blue Islands, but had to adjust the plan following the demise of this carrier before the first flight was operated. As a result, the first few weeks saw Skybus juggle multiple short-term ACMI contracts for the route, including an E190 and an A320-200 from Titan Airways, and a B737-800 from Ascend Airways. Skybus' PSO ops are operated under the code of Aurigny Air Services.

Meanwhile, Aurigny itself has vowed to provide a "a much better and more reliable" service between Jersey and Guernsey in the Channel Islands after becoming the sole designated operator of the route. The intra-island shuttle used to be run by Blue Islands. After its collapse, both Aurigny and Loganair stepped in, but the latter was recently denied a licence for the newly regulated route.