Small islands summit beneficial

TWO politicians from Sark visited Alderney recently for a small islands summit.

Charles Maitland and Edric Baker met States members at the Island Hall before taking a tour of the island with Paul Arditti, John Beaman and Ray Berry.

The event was organised by Paul and titled the Alderney/Sark Co-operation Meeting. It is hoped politicians from both islands will meet twice a year from now on.

Policy and Finance Committee chairman John said the politicians discussed agriculture, crime, fisheries, tourism and health and safety.

'It's always interesting to listen to different ideas, as we're looking at picking up new things from everybody,' he said. 'Sark is running a dark skies initiative and folk concert, so these could be things we pick up from them.'

Charles, chairman of Sark's General Purposes and Advisory Committee, said the trip had been beneficial.

'We've had a very enjoyable day. It has been good to discuss problems and listen to what other people think.'

He said both islands had economic pressures to deal with.

'Alderney has a slightly different situation from ours as it has links to Guernsey. Sark has a stand-alone economy, but we both have to look at the pressures of today, which involve keeping the islands viable and attracting tourists.'

Charles said Sark ran at a profit last year - mainly due to the fact that the island employs just one civil servant.

'Sark operates on a voluntary basis. Our income is small, so the cost of administration is small, but we made a surplus last year and we must be one of the only jurisdictions operating at a profit.

'It hasn't been easy, though. Our shipping company made a loss of £100,000 a few years ago but we've worked very hard to turn that around, to the point where last year it made a profit of £230,000.'

The meeting also discussed tidal power, something both islands want to benefit from.

'We have a law going through the Ministry of Justice at the moment which mirrors Guernsey's tidal energy law,' said Charles. 'We're working closely with Guernsey, as the main source of energy will come from the Big Russel. Alderney is ahead of the game on tidal energy but I should think all the main Channel Islands will have to work together in due course.'

Aurigny is once again Alderney's only airline after Blue Islands announced it was halting services from the island.

The news has surprised many, especially as it comes less than a year after Derek Coates held a public meeting to convince islanders he was the right man to take over Aurigny.

Earlier this week, States member Paul Arditti said people's loyalty to Aurigny had cost Blue Islands.

The bottom line is that despite offering competitive - and often cheaper - fares, not charging for using a debit or credit card and giving customers free food and drink in Guernsey, passengers generally opted to fly Aurigny, rather than Blue Islands. The States-owned airline, which was launched in Alderney more than 40 years ago, continues to be the people's carrier of choice. Some ties are obviously hard to break.

In truth, there is little more that Blue Islands could have done. Yes, the airline could have run services elsewhere, but would they have been viable? It could also have put on extra flights to Guernsey, but how would they have filled eight planes a day when four was a struggle?

Blue Islands is a business and it has made a business decision.

It is important now that Aurigny doesn't hike up fares after gaining an Alderney monopoly. Fares to and from Guernsey have remained steady for several years - it is to be hoped they remain affordable.