Boss of Aurigny's partner airline Skybus leaves post

Jonathan Hinkles has left his role as managing director of Skybus, Aurigny’s partner airline on the Alderney route, by mutual consent. Hinkles had been managing the Isles of Scilly operator for 18 months, including joining senior Aurigny executives in Alderney last month to defend Skybus’s twin otter services on the route. Closer to the Isles of Scilly, Skybus faced criticism after extending operations into the Channel Islands, with tourism and business leaders saying it was not delivering as expected. Skybus said it was forced to suspend flights from Exeter to the Isles of Scilly following a turbulent start to the year, including damage to aircraft at Land’s End during Storm Goretti, and it cancelled daily services from Newquay to London in April. Aurigny said the change would not affect Alderney services, and Hinkles will be replaced by Stuart Reid, CEO of Skybus’s owner, the Isles of Scilly Steamship Group.