Stagecoach has announced that it is cutting its 'F' service, which serves Gloucestershire Airport, after it made a loss last year.

The service will no longer run to Bamfurlong and the airport, after making a loss of £100,000 last year alone.

But can an airport really be without a bus service?

And it's not just the airport that is losing out. The 'F' bus also serves the rural hamlet of Bamfurlong, many of whose 200 residents are retired, and The Butterfly Garden, a charity which supports more than 200 people living with a disability.

A spokesperson for Stagecoach said: "We're withdrawing our Service F between Coronation Square and Gloucestershire Airport from 13 August. Unfortunately this section of the route continues to carry very few customers and during the last financial year contributed a financial loss in the region of £100,000. This was despite a service change in January 2017, designed to use smaller buses and help reduce our total cost.

"With most journeys carrying one or two passengers and the busiest trips only around seven or eight, it has not been possible to retain a limited number of journeys with any confidence of them covering their cost. We have shared passenger and cost data with Gloucestershire County Council and The Butterfly Garden to help them consider if an alternative service can be provided with financial support"

Now the airport, the people of Bamfurlong and The Butterfly Garden are joining forces to call for a re-think. They want Stagecoach to reconsider its decision, or for someone else to step forward to offer an alternative bus service, serving Cheltenham, Gloucester, the airport and Bamfurlong.

And here at Punchine, we are right behind them. The airport is an important industrial and recreational development, home to a number of different businesses. The Butterfly Garden provides education, therapy and recreation for people of all ages with learning disabilities and mental health problems. Surely there has to be an alternative way to ensure they have the bus service they need?

What do you think? Email mark@moosemarketingandpr.co.uk 

Readers' comments:

Kevin Attwood: I can see how the service made a loss when it goes a long way out to just get to the airport. Surely the logical answer if for the 94 service between Cheltenham and Gloucester turning left by Keltruck and re-joining its route by the crossroads further down the road to Churchdown. These buses I think are every 10 minutes at busiest time of day so would only need to be one every 45mins or 30 mins. The route does not divert much but then Bamfulong village and the airport get a service. Worth a think Stagecoach.