Aurigny's new jet 'a big step forward'

The 122-seater Embraer E195 landed at roughly 4pm and received a traditional welcome, passing through an arc of water sprayed by the airport firefighters.

Chief executive Mark Darby was thrilled to see it land.

'It's been a quick process by aircraft buying standards,' he said.

'It's the end of a lot of hard work from the whole team who have been working very hard over the past eight to nine months.

'You have to do the same amount of work whether you are buying one aircraft or 100 so it has been a lot of effort for such a small organisation like Aurigny to get it here and I am really looking forward to getting it in service.'

The purchase, made to cover Flybe's withdrawal from the Gatwick route, is expected to see the airline, which last year suffered a £3.5m. loss, break even by 2015.

'This is a big step forward for the airline and for the island,' said Mr Darby.