AIRLINE Blue Islands will stop all flights from Bournemouth Airport on February 2.

The Channel Islands-based airline, which has only been operating from Bournemouth since November 1 2011, flew three times a week from the airport.

The decision comes after Ryanair took a longer than usual winter break from the airport – the low-cost airline will resume flights on March 14, rather than February.

Managing director Rob Veron said Bournemouth travellers will be served from Southampton Airport, which offers six flights every week day.

“That is clearly the preference of our travellers,” he said.

“We previously ceased our service to Bournemouth when we were granted a Guernsey – Southampton licence, a market of 140,000 passengers compared with 6,000 in Bournemouth. Last year we had some capacity on our Jetstream aircraft and were able to reintroduce this niche service to establish whether or not a discreet demand existed. However, we have only seen 20 per cent of the previous passenger numbers. Since 2007, the Southampton market has grown by 14 per cent, showing that passengers on the south coast have voted with their feet.”

Blue Islands, which has been operating since 2006, flies between the UK, Europe and the Channel Islands.

Mr Veron said: “It goes without saying that Blue Islands are committed to the Channel Islands and pride ourselves on offering direct destinations from Jersey, with excellent connections to Guernsey on all destinations.

“We must concentrate on creating and growing sustainable services.”

Blue Islands is also cutting its Isle of Man service, which has seen a 72 per cent decrease in passenger numbers.

Any passengers who have booked on the services to travel after February this year will be given the option of a full refund or to book on either the Southampton or the London City route.

Bournemouth Airport is owned by the Manchester Airports Group Plc, which also owns Manchester Airport and East Midlands Airport.

Paul Knight, managing director of Bournemouth Airport, said: “It remains a very challenging environment for airlines, and while the loss of the service to Jersey is a disappointment, our route development team continues to talk to new and existing airlines, and we remain optimistic with a number of opportunities in the pipeline for 2013.”