FROM today (Wednesday) Hovertravel is adding extra flights to its weekday timetable.

The additional flights are at 3.45pm from Ryde and 4pm from Southsea, from Monday to Friday.

Julie Horrocks, head of ground operations at Hovertravel, said: “We always monitor our passenger numbers and flows in detail.

"Over the past year this has been even more crucial as we responded to the pandemic and the needs of the local community.

"Hovertravel has the advantage of being hyper-flexible and we can add flights in very quickly as demand dictates.

"We also review the data for trends and can see that, with school children returning home and regular travellers starting to leave work, the hour around 4pm is becoming busier.

"These new additions to our timetable will add capacity exactly when it is most needed and demonstrate Hovertravel is doing all it can to support a sustainable recovery.”

Hovertravel’s booked service returned on May 1 so customers are asked to book online to guarantee their seat and make sure they have scanned their ticket in the terminal five minutes before departure.