Out of 37 Flybe airports only Guernsey was shut

GUERNSEY airport was strongly criticised yesterday by Flybe for being the only airstrip closed out of the 37 to which it operates in the British Isles.

Thousands of passengers were left out in the cold for a third day yesterday as airport staff used tractors, a fire engine and a road sweeper in a desperate bid to break up the ice.

Flybe spokesman Niall Duffy asked why the runway could not be de-iced, allowing backed-up flights to get moving.

'Other airports have benefited from progressive, forward-looking investment in separate drainage facilities to deal with chemical run-off and it is a real concern that an island which needs modern facilities doesn't have them.'

Public Services, the department in charge of the airport, has belatedly announced that it is investigating using a chemical de-icing alternative.

Rock salt, which is used in the UK, has been ruled out by Guernsey Water. And airport director Colin Le Ray has insisted that nothing more could have been done to get the airport operational.

Chief Minister Lyndon Trott, who was also stuck in the UK for two days, has promised to take the matter of how the island coped with snow and ice to the Policy Council for discussion.

• Public Services has identified a possible alternative to rock salt – calcium magnesium acetate – but sufficient stocks are not currently available locally to use island-wide. The de-icing chemical could be imported if the current cold snap continues. It would be as effective as salt but harmless to the water supply.

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