Isle of Wight ferry firm, Red Funnel, is extending its winter timetable, because it needs to carry out more repair work - including for one week of schools' Easter holidays.

When schools break up on March 31, Red Funnel's winter timetable will remain in place - which means fewer crossings. 

Overall in April, there will fewer sailings than planned for around half the month.

The operator, which connects Southampton and East Cowes on its vehicle ferry route, is blaming what it calls the unpredictably prolonged, complex engine work required by Red Eagle.

In turn, it means annual maintenance to Red Osprey and Red Falcon will also be delayed - with the knock-on impact that some customers are seeing their bookings changed.

Through April, the firm will switch between winter and summer sailing times.

What will Isle of Wight ferry firm Red Funnel's timetable look like over the next month? 

March 31 to April 5: Continued winter timetable.

April 6 to April 16: Summer timetable.

April 17 to April 27: Back to winter timetable.

April 28 to October 31: Summer timetable.

What does the change mean for customers travelling on Red Funnel to and from the Isle of Wight?

Between March 31 and April 5 and between April 17 and 27, some summer timetable crossings will not sail, which means changes for people booked on them.

Red Funnel says it is emailing affected passengers.

It said:  "Many customers are unaffected by changes, but where changes are required, the majority will find that their crossing time has only changed by 30 minutes." 

Red Funnel also plans to run extra Red Kestrel freight ferry sailings.

"We are very disappointed" - Red Funnel CEO, Fran Collins

Fran Collins, CEO at Red Funnel, said: "We are very disappointed to have to make these timetable changes.

"The issues we’ve encountered with Red Eagle’s engine repair have been unexpectedly complicated and our teams have been working tirelessly to return the vessel to service as quickly as possible.

"We are doing everything we can to resume our scheduled timetable, but unfortunately these circumstances are beyond our control, and we are sorry that some customers will be affected by the delay."