Hovertravel, the Island’s Cross-Solent hovercraft connection between Ryde and Southsea, has this evening (Saturday) been hit by further technical issues resulting in passengers having to walk across the sands.
Eyewitnesses have said that the Solent Flyer craft left Ryde – with passengers on board – before developing the fault whilst en-route to Southsea, resulting in the pilot having to do an about turn and limp back to Ryde. The incident occurred around 19:00.
In a video that has been shared with Island Echo, it is evident that Solent Flyer suffered a problem with the lift (skirt inflation) on the right hand side of the hovercraft.
The video shows how passengers had to disembark onto the sands leading up the landing pad before the pilot attempted to land the hovercraft on the pad once the passengers had made their way back to the waiting room.
Solent Flyer has been in and out of service for the past few weeks due to technical issues with the craft. In an article published yesterday, Hovertravel apologised to customers for the reliability issues that have played havoc on commuters.
Watch the video, kindly shared by Morgan Bulmer, of the Solent Flyer in difficulty this evening below…
