Hovertravel are working to identify and fix a problem with their Solent Flyer craft after a mechanical breakdown led to an extended crossing on the last flight to Ryde last night (Thursday).
Passengers have told Island Echo that the 20:30 from Southsea to Ryde took around 40 minutes in all after an issue developed on board. The journey normally takes just 10 minutes.
It has been confirmed that there was a loss of power to the port propeller on Solent Flyer, but that the craft was able to continue to Ryde where all passengers and crew disembarked safely.
Onboard and ground staff apologised to the customers for the extended crossing time.
Engineers are this morning working to repair the craft on the pad at Ryde. The issue is such that staff haven’t been able to swap the craft from the service position (in the centre of the pad) to the maintenance position.
The issue means that the Ryde-Southsea service is currently reliant on Island Flyer to maintain a normal timetable.
A spokesperson for Hovertravel has said:
“The engineering team are working on the craft: identifying what happened and making repairs as appropriate.
“Our services are operating as normal”.
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