Guernsey Press

Direct flights to Dublin set to return after disruption

AURIGNY'S direct flights to Dublin will be starting up again after more than a month of being re-directed to Belfast due to licensing issues.

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Dublin Airport) (30809502)

The airline launched the route at the end of March and had a temporary permit in place, allowing for a service between Guernsey and Dublin. But that ran out on 10 April.

Since then flights have been going to Belfast, with a coach service transferring passengers to the Irish capital.

States' Supervisory & Trading Board president Deputy Peter Roffey said routes currently operating will unlikely be affecting by similar post-Brexit licensing problems, but that routes operating in the future could be affected.

He had said previously that transferring passengers by bus from the Irish capital to Belfast was not a sustainable solution.

‘It’s been frustrating and it is a relief to have it sorted.

‘It’s very complicated as it is a post-Brexit thing – after the EU agreement fell through we fell back on bilateral agreements.

‘We have been trying to re-negotiate those agreements.’

An Aurigny spokesman said that Dublin flights had been popular in both directions with good capacity and that there had been no further issues with licensing.

Passengers booked on the services today and on Saturday will continue to travel via Belfast, with direct flights to Dublin resuming on Tuesday.

Aurigny commercial director Malcolm Coupar said the route had been extremely popular and he was glad that Irish authorities had granted the airline an air permit for over the summer.

‘We would like to thank our customers for their patience and apologise to any of our customers who have been inconvenienced by the temporary change in destination,’ he said.

‘It really looks like the luck of the Irish has finally come good and we are delighted we will now be back operating directly into Dublin from 17 May. I know many locals have breaks planned to the city and we also look forward to welcoming our Irish friends to the island. There are strong links between Dublin and Guernsey, and it makes such a difference when people can travel between the destinations in one short flight.’

Aurigny will be giving away free flights to Dublin every two weeks over the summer to celebrate the resumption of the direct service.

It was not the only airline affected by the issue. Blue Islands services between Dublin and Jersey were disrupted by the same problem.

But it also confirmed yesterday that it would start operating the direct route again from 19 May.