Runway longer than Jersey's 'ready by 2020'
GUERNSEY'S runway could be long enough to accommodate larger planes by 2020, and could even be longer than Jersey's, if the States was to throw its support behind a lengthening project, Jan Kuttelwascher has said.
The comments follow news that Guernsey has lost its summer Air Berlin services to Dusseldorf and Stuttgart, because the operator has moved to using larger Airbus aircraft.
Deputy Kuttelwascher, who has been campaigning for the runway to be lengthened, said that the island was making a false economy by subsidising Aurigny instead.
A lengthening project is in the pipeline for the capital prioritisation debate this summer.
Deputy Kuttelwascher estimated that lengthening the runway to 1,720m and increasing the safety area across La Villiaze Road could cost about £30m.
He was optimistic that politicians would get behind the idea.
'I think there is some momentum towards it,' he said.
He said if the States approved the scheme this summer, a business case could be in place by the end of 2017, with work then taking a couple of years.
