New airline switches its maiden flight to Edinburgh
A TEENAGE entrepreneur dubbed "baby Branson" is launching his airline with flights from Scotland to the Isle of Man.
Martin Halstead, the 19-year-old behind Alpha One Airways, had planned to start operating next Monday, with flights from Southampton.
But he has scrapped that route in favour of twice-daily services to the island from Edinburgh, amid "overwhelming demand" for flights from the capital. The first flight will not now take place until 14 December due to delays in pilot training and setting up a booking system.
A spokeswoman for the airline said it had been overwhelmed by interest from potential passengers and had been forced to bring in a firm to help with bookings, which will open on Monday.
She said the first route had been changed because of far greater demand for the Edinburgh service. No bookings for the Southampton route have been taken and Alpha One plans to fly from there and Cardiff to the Isle of Man early next year.