Aero Club decides to call off popular air rally
ENTHUSIASTS will miss out on Guernsey’s annual Aero Club air rally for the second year in a row.
The show is in its 48th year but has not been able to go ahead since 2019 due to safety concerns surrounding Covid.
Some 60 aircraft were booked to attend this year between 10 and 12 September, a quarter of them coming from outside the Common Travel Area. The weekend would have featured an arrival lunch, welcome drinks party and a hangar ball, as well as public events.
‘Cases have been rising on the island so it just didn’t seem like the right time. We didn’t want to plan something that would contribute to a spread of the virus,’ said air rally director Gary Elson.
‘It is usually a great boost for the economy. We would have had 120 people from all over Europe staying for three nights in various hotels, which would have been great when hotels are struggling in the pandemic.’
Mr Elson and other organisers asked club members on whether the event should be held.
‘Around three-quarters of them were reluctant for it to go ahead.
‘Some were receptive to the idea of trying to hold a smaller “fly-in” style event, but our air rally has such a strong reputation and following, we decided to postpone rather than put on something that might just be a damp squib.’
Organisers are hoping for the event going ahead as normal in 2022.
