THIRTEEN members of former Blue Islands flight crew have this month been awarded compensation totalling around £200,000 as a result of the airline’s abrupt collapse – but it is unlikely they will ever receive the money.
The group now join the long list of creditors seeking to recovery sums owed by the regional carrier, which ceased trading on 17 November 2025.
Each applied for compensation via the Jersey Employment and Discrimination Tribunal, which this month handed down judgments ordering that the company repay outstanding type rating bonds – a contractual agreement between an airline and a pilot, requiring the pilot to repay training costs if they leave before a specified period.
At Blue Islands, pilots paid for their own specialist aircraft training – typically around £20,000 – by way of a personal loan, which was repaid by the airline in monthly instalments over three years.
However, when Blue Islands entered liquidation, repayments stopped, leaving substantial balances outstanding.
In each case, the tribunal noted that Blue Islands had not filed a response to the claims, so each judgment was handed down in default.
The combined total awarded across the 13 cases amounts to £198,691.62, which, in combination with a previous judgment in the airline, brings the total owed to more than £210,000.
The claims against Blue Islands
Among those to bring claims was Patrick Patterson, a pilot who had paid a £20,000 bond as a condition of his employment. The tribunal ordered that he be paid £17,033.28 in damages after the airline failed to respond to his claim.
Harrison Tapley, also a pilot, was awarded £9,109.96 relating to a £25,000 bond, while Charlton Tapley received £15,838.94.
Captain Denis Barrow was awarded £15,647.03, and pilot Daniel Nagadowski was granted £15,613.92.
First officers Oliver van Klaveren and Matthew Shuttleworth were awarded £15,492.18 and £17,033.28 respectively.
Further awards were made to Maxwel De Oliveira (£14,856.48) , Andrew Rondel (£14,083.96) and Line Captain Pellervo Backman (£12,210).
Pilot Imran Rana was awarded £19,301.53 after paying a £20,000 training bond which remained largely outstanding at the point of liquidation.
Fellow pilots Alexandra Tidmas and Anish Patel were awarded £15,804.36 and £16,666.70 respectively.
The February string of judgments follows a previous one last month, in which Blue Islands was ordered to pay one of its former airline captains £17,225 related to a training bond.
Mark Chadwick worked as an airline captain for the company until his employment was terminated on 17 November 2025 when the airline went into liquidation.
