British Island Airways

IATA	ICAO	Callsign
UK / KD	BIA	BRITISLAND

Founded

1970 (UK)) / 1982 (KD)

Ceased operations

1980 (UK) / 1991 (KD)

Operating bases

London Gatwick

Destinations

British Isles and Europe

Headquarters

Redhill, United Kingdom (UK)
Crawley, United Kingdom (KD)

Key people

Hon Anthony Cayzer (Chairman)
Wg Cdr L.B. "Bill" Elwin
(UK Managing Director,
1970-1977)
Peter Villa (UK Managing Director, 1977-1980
KD Managing Director, 1982-1991)

British Island Airways (BIA) was the legal successor to British United Island Airways (BUIA). It commenced operations under that name in mid-1970. Ten years later it merged with Air Anglia, Air Wales and Air Westward to form Air UK, at the time the UK's biggest regional airline and its third-largest scheduled operator. The first British Island Airways had its head office at Congreve House (1970–1972) and Berkeley House (1973–1979), which are respectively located in Station Road and on the high street in Redhill, Surrey.

In 1982 British Island Airways was reconstituted by splitting off the charter operation Air UK had inherited from BIA at the time of its creation into a separate company.

The reconstituted BIA ceased operations in 1991.

British Island Airways was the new name BUIA, the regional affiliate of British United Airways (BUA), adopted in July 1970. At that time the airline adopted a new livery as well.

When in late November of that year Caledonian Airways acquired BUA from British and Commonwealth (B&C), the owner of both BUA and BUIA at the time, the latter's assets were not included in that deal. As a result, BUA's former parent company continued to own BIA.

Following the completion of BUA's sale to Caledonian on 30 November 1970, BIA officially began its life as a legal entity in its own right the following day, 1 December 1970.

BIA's corporate headquarters was located at Redhill, Surrey, Southeast England. The airline's main engineering base was at Blackpool, Lancashire, Northwest England, while its main operating base was at London Gatwick. Other airports that used to receive BIA's regular scheduled passenger services in the early to mid-1970s included Antwerp, Belfast, Blackpool, Dublin, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Jersey, Manchester, Newcastle, Paris Orly and Southampton. Many of the services to the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man were operated on a seasonal basis — exceptions being year-round operations linking Gatwick with Guernsey, Southampton with both Channel Islands and the Isle of Man with Blackpool and Belfast. BIA's scheduled route network was considerably enlarged in 1979 when it assumed the entire scheduled operation of British Air Ferries (BAF).

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