Airport passengers left stranded in the dark

Now questions are being asked about why more was not done to help them.

One man even took an unlocked bicycle from the airport, cycled home, returned in a car to take holidaymakers to their destinations, and then returned the bike to the airport.

Flights were delayed on Sunday due to knock-on problems.

Marketing manager Simone Roberts, 34, and her partner, were on the Aurigny flight from Manchester which was due to leave at 5.20pm but ended up delayed until 8.45pm, arriving in Guernsey after 10pm.

At about the same time, a delayed flight from Exeter also landed.

There was a further lag in the two groups leaving the airport after waiting for bags, and they emerged to find no taxis, too late for buses, and soon afterwards the doors were locked behind them.

‘There were a lot of people,’ said Miss Roberts.

Some had arranged to be collected, but other locals who had not called friends. Miss Roberts said it was the visitors who were the most at a loss.

‘They were completely baffled as to what they could do,’ she said.

‘There were elderly people and children, who were distressed. Then the airport started closing down and there was one man wandering around trying to get back into the building but everyone had gone.’

About a dozen people were left outside the building.

‘People had lots of bags, it was pitch black, and they had no-one to pick them up.’

Miss Roberts said calls were made to taxi companies, but all were busy and unable to send a cab until after midnight. Local taxi companies have been struggling with a shortage of drivers.

She and her partner managed to contact a friend, who came to pick them up, and at the same time took a couple of other passengers and their bags to their destinations.

‘One man found an unlocked bike and he rode home. It had no lights so he used the light from his phone to ride into Town to get his car then drive back to the airport, and he took people home and returned the bike.’

Miss Roberts and her partner took both of their cars back to the airport to help collect the remaining passengers, one of whom was an Aurigny crew member who had hoped to get a taxi.

They got home at about 11.30pm.

She said the airport or the airline should have some form of provision for such occasions.

‘There were no facilities, no toilets, no warmth, no nothing.

It’s a long time for people to be waiting outside.

‘Yes, there’s an issue with taxis, but the airport and the airlines know there’s an issue and they don’t seem to have done anything to combat this.

‘You can’t just put it onto the taxis when they’re fully booked.’

Miss Roberts was hoping to get some response from the airport, the States or VisitGuernsey after posting about the situation on Twitter.

She said the passengers were lucky there were some locals there to help but contingency plans needed to be put in place in case this happened again.

An Aurigny spokeswoman said the airport was operated independently of the airline and decided its opening and closing times.

‘The airport often accommodates and assists Aurigny with the extension of their operating hours and Airport staff to facilitate our passengers arriving via aircraft that are subject to a delay, we greatly appreciate this flexibility,’ she said.

Guernsey Ports was contacted for comment, but did not respond in time for publication.

Fog likely to cause problems today

Fog is likely to continue to cause problems at the airport today, but should improve in the coming days.

Monday saw air passengers face significant delays, with many afternoon flights cancelled. But airlines pushed to get people home, with the Southampton flight landing at 11.09pm and the last Gatwick flight touching down just after 11.30pm.

Yesterday some flights were delayed, but most managed to land.

The Guernsey Met Office said they expected more issues today with weather.

A spokesman said fog would lift at times, but it was difficult to judge the times.

However, from tomorrow sunny periods are expected to develop and the weather should be mainly sunny to fine for the rest of the weekend and into Bank Holiday Monday.