Isle of Man Airport: Staff training blamed for delays

Disruption at the Isle of Man Airport has been blamed on a staff shortage of air traffic controllers.

The runway at Ronaldsway is closed periodically throughout the day for between 35 and 45 minutes.

It comes after a number of delays and cancellations to and from the airport in recent weeks.

An airport spokesman said: "We do everything we can to minimise the disruption to the flying public."

"We've needed short-term closures for some time because of the numbers of qualified staff available, but recently this number has changed again," he added.

Training air traffic controllers can take "three to four years for student controllers", he said, adding: "Even controllers relocating from other airports can take 12-18 months or more depending on their experience."

He said the job was in high demand across the UK and "attracting them to our lovely island can be a challenge".

There have been three new student air traffic controllers recruited to start in the autumn, but the disruption is expected to last a "few months over the summer period", the spokesman said.

He added the decisions were under constant review and the Manx airport was in a similar position to other jurisdictions.

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