A major league player, such as Ryanair, is a very different scenario to, perhaps, an ACMI tin pot operator operator and the two cannot be compared.

The CAA aren't preventing Citywing from continuing, or entering in to, agreements with other operators so it would appear that they are after Van Air as opposed to Citywing and I'm not surprised if the reports are true, that they departed IOM whilst their destination, apparently, was outside limits, they tried a couple of approaches including a bounce off the runway and with other alternates available they elected to return to IOM which was also outside limits.

Out of curiosity what was the wind direction and speed at BHD at the time ... because if it was 300 there also it would have been literally across the runway!

Out of curiosi

Ryanair or Van Air, scale doesn't matter; both operate under the same category of AOC and both should be treated the same. But of course they won't be, since one has near-infinite funds to lawyer-up and the other just has to do as it's told.

Anyway, L410 OK-LAZ departed Ronaldsway at 10:30 this morning call-sign VAA930P, heading south-east presumably on a ferry flight. I wouldn't blame them if they didn't come back.

It was bad, as forecast.

I've found the info below which seems about right from what I recall at the time. Reading from bottom up, every 30 mins from 0720.

Quick summary of keys info. Wind was average approx 310 degrees betwern 0750 and 1120. Never less than 23kts and gusting at least 10kts more. Worst at 0820; 310@29G46kts.

I'm pretty sure a BA A319 diverted to BFS around the time VanAir were due.

SA 23/02/2017 11:50->
METAR EGAC 231150Z 32020G33KT 9999 VCSH FEW018 SCT022 06/02
Q0993=
SA 23/02/2017 11:20->
METAR EGAC 231120Z 32022G39KT 9999 -SHRA FEW020 SCT025 06/02
Q0992=
SA 23/02/2017 10:50->
METAR EGAC 231050Z 31020G31KT 9999 VCSH FEW010 BKN014 06/02
Q0990=
SA 23/02/2017 10:20->
METAR EGAC 231020Z 31021G34KT 9999 VCSH FEW010 BKN014 05/03
Q0989=
SA 23/02/2017 09:50->
METAR EGAC 230950Z 31023G38KT 9999 -SHRA FEW010 BKN014 05/02
Q0988=
SA 23/02/2017 09:20->
METAR EGAC 230920Z 31023G40KT 9999 -RADZ FEW010 BKN014 04/02
Q0986=
SA 23/02/2017 08:50->
METAR EGAC 230850Z 31025G42KT 9999 -RADZ FEW010 BKN014 04/02
Q0983=
SA 23/02/2017 08:20->
METAR EGAC 230820Z 31029G46KT 9999 -SHRA FEW009 BKN012 03/01
Q0981=
SA 23/02/2017 07:50->
METAR EGAC 230750Z 30025G40KT 9999 -RADZ FEW009 BKN011 05/03
Q0977=
SA 23/02/2017 07:20->
METAR EGAC 230720Z 28006KT 3500 BR FEW009 BKN012 06/05 Q0976=

It's gone to liege.

What about the other Van Air a/c? Are they leaving as well?

Truth of the matter is that if Van Air disappears from the island, so will 50 per cent of the airport's destinations - all that will remain is DUB, LCY, LGW, BRS, LPL, BHX and MAN. And realistically, destinations like LCY, BRS and BHX do not look like a given. The airprt could very well be down to a core network of LGW, MAN, LPL and DUB some point in the future.

I think it is fanciful to believe that another airline will simply show up and continue the routes Van Air has flown at the fares they have offered. While 10 or 15 years ago there were dozens of airlines with small commuter aircraft around, this nowadays is an almost extinct species. While almost anywhere else it means driving for quite a distance to catch a flight with the big boys from a big airport, in the case of IoM it means, well, swimming, I suppose.

Would Loganair or Eastern be a good fit for replacement services should Citywing go to the wall. Just a guess however Logan could maybe do Glasgow and Belfast with Eastern at Newcastle. Gloucester and Jersey with Aurigny maybe.

would rather swim than use them

Loganairs former sister company Manx Airlines served the Isle of Man for many years. Would think Loganair would be great for the island.

Well the residents of NW Scotland, Orkney and Shetland seem to get by without swimming. And Doris was little more than a fresh breeze to them. They get worse several times every winter.

Used to love going to Douglas for a day trip for £18 return on I'D90 staffy on Manx. Had breakfast in the lounge at Manchester and always ended up in Quids Inn in the afternoon. If Linda Brotherstone or Mary Stott were working the flight we always came of with miniatures and mixers. Great times with Manx.

Well, the last time Loganair gave BLK and BHD a try, it lasted for just 10 weeks,

FLYBE SERVICE TO ISLE OF MAN AND BLACKPOOL LASTS JUST TEN WEEKS

so I doubt they will be inclined to return unless economics have changed dramatically. With Vanair potentially gone, they might change indeed - however, I seem to remember constant bickering elsewhere about the high fares Loganair charges on non-PSO routes (and for that matter, even on PSO routes). And the same applies to Eastern. So big question - would folks be willing to fork out considerably more money than now to get to BLK, NCL, GLO, BHD or would they rather take the ferry or one of the lager carriers to BRS, LPL, DUB or MAN?

To me, the Citywing/Vanair concept always looked like one of the last survivors of regional air transport - but realistically on life-support as it only worked through this somewhat creative Czech/Manx setup.

Manx2/Citywing have been through a lot of airlines and they are still here. Even if Citywing disappeared, it is likely that they would reappear the following day as Manxwing3.

UPDATED: Disruption for Blackpool passengers as flight operator grounded - Blackpool Gazette

A UK CAA spokesperson said: “The UK Civil Aviation Authority has suspended Czech-registered operator Van Air’s permission to fly in the UK. "This follows an incident involving a Van Air aircraft at Isle of Man Airport on February 23. "The incident is being investigated by the Czech civil aviation authorities, who have regulatory oversight of Van Air. "

I've learned something new. I presumed that they needed permission to fly from the IOM but as an EU carrier, not in the U.K.

Now we have an interesting situation. An IOM ticket seller selling seats on a 737 in the U.K. without an Operating Licence or an ATOL. Standby, I'm just off to start runway30 airlines..................

Am I missing something?
There can hardly be more than a dozen passengers on each flight tomorrow. If they have all the passengers details, why not just reprotect onto BE or EZY, especially if they're flying them to Liverpool. In my experience Titan are very expensive for short sectors, with a high 'call out' charge but relatively low block hour rate. Something else in play?

I suspect that Citywing will have a claim against Van Air for chartering replacement aircraft. Whether they will have the money to pay is a different issue............

Well, they were quick to point out that they were just a 'ticket seller' when they had a deadly accident so I'm no sure what kind of claim they will have if any at all?

This is a sad day for Citywing. They have stuck with it in the IOM for quite a few years now. They have differentiated with small aircraft at high frequency on route that otherwise would not be served or served very infrequently, this is in times when the IOM tourism scene has been in decline. There was no route to Scotland for a time and BLK which is a long standing route would not be operating if it were not for Citywing. Hopefully they can get things sorted out.

I wouldn't be convinced that they will be able to sustain 737s by Titan for long, whether or not Vanair will pay for it, the cost simply would be penal in relative terms and not sustainable for long irrespective of who is footing the bill...

Van Air didn't just turn up in the IOM and ask Citywing to sell tickets for them. The revenue risk lies with Citywing and Van Air will earn a definite amount of money for every flight. There will be a contract with notice periods and where there are notice periods, there will be penalties.