A few days ago, BMI Regional announced that they were closing their service between Edinburgh and Stornaway due to insufficient demand. The airline ensured there would be no inconvenience to their customers already booked by transferring their tickets to the continuing British Airways service.

When the route was introduced a couple of years ago, many might have been puzzled as to why a remote Scottish island would be interested in another daily service to the capital. However, increases in tourism, and the developing governance of the Scottish Executive would have been good reason to believe that passenger numbers were likely to increase. Whilst numbers have increased, so has the capacity of the Loganair planes, and there are simply too many empty seats to make it worthwhile for BMI to continue.

We're pleased that BMI have immediately rebooked passengers on the alternative flights. It contrasts with the practice of some low cost carriers who try to avoid rerouting passengers, instead thinking that a refund will be satisfactory. We take a brief look at passenger rights when a route is closed.

The budget airline Ryanair has announced an almost immediate closure of its Dublin to Cardiff route having failed to reach an agreement with Cardiff Airport over passenger charges.

The route closed on May 1st, with passengers only being offered a transfer between the two airports until May 10th. The situation starkly demonstrates how passengers can be quickly inconvenienced when a carrier fails to agree terms with an airport or other supplier.

The Premiership team and officials of Blackburn Rovers were involved in a major scare on Monday as their plane was hit by lightning en route to Manchester Airport.

Players reported hearing an explosion as the 31 seater Dornier 328 aircraft chartered from Scot Airways flew through a storm and turbulence. The lightning strike cause a bolt to be blown out from the back of the plane, but the aircraft landed safely at Manchester Airport shortly afterwards.

In a recent interview given to the Manchester Evening News, British Airways Chairman Willie Walsh has expressed satisfaction with the launch of its low cost offering, BA Connect.

BA Connect was launched in March 2006, and is a makeover of its regional airline CitiExpress. With the exception of the London City to Edinburgh route, complementary food service has been withdrawn, but otherwise things are much the same.

The largest difference with BA Connect is its pricing structure. The cheapest seats now start from £25 each way, flights are available as single legs, and a premium service for business travellers offers flexible ticketing and lounge access. The biggest savers will be those booking first, with few last minute bargains available, as is common with all low cost carriers.

Early reports from the BBC indicate that today's Ryanair flight from Liverpool to Derry has landed at Ballykelly Airport, some five miles away, in error.

The flight is believed to have been operated on behalf of Ryanair by Eirjet, a charter company based in Shannon, Ireland. Passengers on the Airbus A320 were transported the remaining distance to Derry Airport by bus.

A bizarre row has broken out between Easyjet and Air France over the rights to operate the Paris to Ajaccio (Corsica) route.

It appears that Easyjet might have jumped the gun by selling tickets on the route without realising that it is protected by a "Public Service Obligation" (PSO). A PSO is used to ensure that lifeline and key routes continue to be operated, and it is common for the airline to be granted a monopoly on the route to ensure its economic viability.

The Paris-Ajaccio route has long been protected by a PSO and operated by Air France. Whilst there are certainly fair questions as to whether it deserves this status, it is surprising that Easyjet have sold tickets on the route without being sure of the implications of the PSO. Easyjet passengers who have purchased tickets can require the airline to reroute them, with the likely result that Easyjet will have to fund passengers' travel on an Air France service.

Two of the largest budget carriers in Europe have today announced 125 flight cancellations due to industrial action in France. Ryanair have cancelled at least 83 flights and Easyjet 44 flights.

It is likely that other carriers will also suffer delays and cancellations to services into and out of France.

Both Easyjet and Ryanair have published information on their websites regarding your rights in such situations. You should note, however, that this information is incomplete. Under European law you have two additional rights that may suit you dependent upon your circumstances:

A Euromanx flight from the Isle of Man made an emergency landing at Liverpool Airport on Saturday night after there were reports of smoke coming from the cabin.

Flight 3W424 was being operated by Emerald Airways for Euromanx and had 55 passengers and crew on board. Emergency crews were initially put on standby for the ATP Turbo Prop aircraft but the situation was upgraded to a full emergency after a further call from the pilot. The plane landed safely and there were no reported injuries.