As we mentioned yesterday, following the suspension of the Hovercraft on Friday, we popped down to meet with Managing Director of Hovertravel, Neil Chapman. Despite being busy, he gave time for the interview as he was keen to clear things up for the people of the Island.
You can have a listen to the complete, uncut interview below.
Lots has happened of late, but we asked Neil to go back to the beginning, explaining the problem that was experienced with the Solent Express back on 30th October.
After this craft was taken out of service, the two other smaller ones (the AP188s) remained in service. These craft, which have been in operation for over 20 years, although different to the one taken out of service, share some components.
With this in mind, Neil told us that further investigation is required in relation to the safety of those craft, but he was keen to stress that he didn’t think those craft were ever in danger.
15 minutes notice from MCA on Friday
Fast forward to Friday just past and Neil explained that just 15 minutes notice was given to them by the MCA requiring the suspension of their Hover service.
He told us that the press release informing media of the problem was sent at the same time that he was being informed by telephone.
The suspension took place following the 6pm Hovercraft from Southsea and Neil apologised deeply for the delays that passengers experienced in whilst they informed staff and made other arrangements.
Why was the service suspended?
Neil was able to explain in detail why the suspension was made. He told us that it centered around the governing maintenance inspection of the propellers, saying that there was one area that the MCA wanted to dig into and other areas to discuss further.
He said, “It is safe to operate, there is no way we would operate an unsafe craft,” going on to say, “safety is of paramount importance to this company.”
Listen to the podcast to hear Neil explain further the process that is taking place over the weekend, with inspections being made by MCA staff working alongside Hovertravel staff.
Change of cancellation policy
Some of you may know that Hovertravel made an announcement earlier in the week about a change in their cancellation policy.
As we reported yesterday, Hovertravel have now reversed that decision with Neil confirming, “there is no linking between what happened on Friday and the message that went out on Wednesday. People can only take my word for that.”
He went on to explain the reason why they had planned the change in policy and what’d led to the reversal. Again, details in the podcast below.
Wightlink passes to be made available
As mentioned earlier this afternoon, the
Hovercraft will not running on Monday morning and an update is expected at noon.
Passengers should use the Wightlink catamaran instead and those with season tickets or pre-booked tickets need to see a member of Hovertravel staff at the Wightlink terminal to receive their vouchers to travel on the catamaran.
Interview
Listen to the full interview by clicking on the play button.
