Au revoir to Dinard as last Aurigny flight lands
AURIGNY’S last scheduled service from Dinard touched down in Guernsey yesterday.
Guernsey’s only regular, year-round service to mainland Europe has been scrapped due to low passenger numbers.
The final day saw five passengers on the outbound service and 11 on the return.
Passengers using the service said they were sad to see the route ending.
Among them were Thomas Redouin, his wife Nana Lima and their two-year-old daughter Maya.
They live in Guernsey, but have family in France.
‘We have been living here for eight months and we usually commute via Condor or fly via Southampton,’ Mr Redouin said.
‘This flight was very quick and convenient. It just comes down to cost. I think it’s a shame they are stopping the route.’
Ghislaine Bougourd and her 12-year-old son Julien had spent New Year with family near Paris.
Mrs Bougourd said they used the service about twice a year.
‘I think it is very sad and we are very disappointed it is stopping,’ she said.
‘I think it is very important that we have air links, especially when the ferries cannot be relied upon.’
Laura Elliott and her daughter Chloe had been skiing in the Alps. But with school starting today and the next ferry from France not due to sail until this evening, they decided to fly home.
‘I have never needed to use the service before, but it is a shame to lose it as it’s good to have a back-up and have an additional route, especially in the winter,’ she said.
Deputy John Gollop was also on the final service, after having a weekend break in France.
He said having a link with France was important.
‘I think this is a very poor reflection on the States of Guernsey,’ he said.
‘I will take this up as my New Year’s resolution to do more for connectivity and tourism.’
He said he had visited Rennes Airport and had been impressed by it. He was keen for Aurigny to look at offering a service there.
Aurigny said last year that the Dinard service no longer made commercial sense. In 2018 there were fewer than 1,500 bookings and there has been an 80% decline in passenger numbers over the last 10 years.
