BermudAir has “profusely apologised” to its customers for failing to respond to service concerns on time.

Adam Scott, founder and chief executive of the airline, said it had been hit with disruption as a result of “unpredictable” events.

He added that airlines generally rarely had the capacity to deal with any sharp increases in calls in the event of a disruption.

Mr Scott said his team was working long hours to clear a backlog of inquiries, with efforts under way to increase staffing in the customer service and engineering teams.

The Royal Gazette reached out to BermudAir after noticing a number of complaints posted on social media, including one that claimed they could not reach the airline despite their flight being cancelled.

One wrote last month: “BWI [Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport just got cancelled … again … and I would like get this figured out. Number rolls to voicemail and mailbox is not accepting messages.”

Another wrote: “Can anyone tell me how to reach BermudAir? Had a cancelled flight yesterday due to technical difficulties and I just can't get an answer on their number … Also not received an e-mail to advise if it's been rescheduled.”

One wrote in January: “Just wondering if anyone has had a problem contacting customer service for BermudAir? I’ve been trying to book a round trip for my sister from Orlando to Bermuda but after I enter her details a message keeps popping up to contact the airlines and when call it goes to voicemail to leave a message (which I have) and I have also sent a message on their contact us page on their website but no reply.”

Mr Scott told The Royal Gazette: “We strive to maintain our schedule and do everything we can to depart on time with minimal disruption.

“Unfortunately, unpredictable events can and do sometimes get in the way. We have been experiencing the realities of a complex airline operation, which are common to all airlines.

“Our customer service team has been assisting passengers impacted by recent cancellations and the increase in customer contacts these have led to.

“It’s true that we haven’t always been able to respond as quickly as our customers are accustomed to, or should expect from us, and for this we profusely apologise. We take pride in the end-to-end service we always aim to deliver and regret any impact disruptions have on the travel plans of our valued customers.

“Airlines rarely have sufficient numbers of staff to deal with the sharp increase in call volumes caused when disruption occurs, but we always aim to be better than our competitors (just as we do with the level of compensation offered) so we are working hard to rectify this situation.

“Our team are working long hours to clear the backlog of inquiries and requests and we have hired, and continue to hire, additional team members to help, even when finding suitably experienced personnel is sometimes a challenge.”

Mr Scott added: “We are a young airline and as our route network expands and demand for our services increases, we understand the need to ensure our customer service capabilities develop at an even faster pace.

“In the meantime, we take great pride in being the only airline based in Bermuda, and with that, we’re always committed to getting our passengers as well as our crews home in the most efficient and reliable way possible. We very much appreciate our customers’ support, patience and understanding. We will always strive to be a dependable and reliable provider of airlift to Bermuda.”

BermudAir did not confirm how many flights had been cancelled since inception or whether there are plans to increase the number of aircraft available for it to use in case of mechanical or technical challenges on the two it leases.

BermudAir has also received positive reviews on social media.

The airline, which provides a direct service from Bermuda to New York‚ Westchester, Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Baltimore/Washington, Orlando, Toronto and Halifax, has been commended for affordable travel with distinctly Bermudian service.

One wrote: “Absolutely great value (under $600 return), service and flight yesterday from Westchester. Please keep enough economy seats going forward as this would be my first choice of airline. Cabin crew were 10/10 in service and customer care.”

Another wrote this week: “What a positive review! I booked tickets for a trip in May over the phone with one of the sales associates in February this year. I happened to check my confirmations this afternoon to confirm timing and noticed that the dates of travel were incorrectly booked for March.

“I called customer service and within an hour it was rectified and I received confirmations with the corrected travel dates. Well done and thank you for fixing it so quickly!”