Private planes unable to refuel in Alderney

Alderney Flying Club chairman Dave Chiswell said the tank, which holds private plane petrol, had been condemned earlier this year because it had corroded.

It has left small aircraft having to fly to Guernsey or Jersey to refuel.

Mr Chiswell, who is currently in the midst of organising Alderney’s biggest annual gathering of small aircraft, the Alderney Fly-in, said it was presenting pilots with an extra challenge.

He said he was unsure what impact the loss of the facility was having of visiting plane numbers due to the fluctuations of the last few years due to Covid.

But he was worried it would deter flyers from coming in.

He said he understood that Alderney airport had fewer planes than Guernsey, and that made supplying private plane fuel more marginal.

He understood that fuel supplier Rubis was trying to help. ‘Rubis want to put in a different system, but they need to find a place for it,’ he said.

‘But that cannot be decided until the runway is decided, so they will know where it can go. Even then, it requires a subsidy to make it viable. This is already a long-term problem.’

He said he sympathised with Rubis, as it was required employ people in Alderney to offer the service, which would often only be a few aircraft.

Rubis managing director Alain Carreau said it was in talks with the island authorities.

‘Alderney is a challenging logistics situation but one which Rubis is working hard to find the best solution for,’ he said.

‘We have considerable global experience of working with small jurisdictions in often difficult to access locations.’

If planes need to fly to Guernsey to refuel, they face extra landing fees and handling fees, as well as extra costs for the extra time renting the aircraft.

‘It all adds to increasing the barrier to visiting Alderney,’ Mr Chiswell said.

The fly-in is due to take place next weekend, and Mr Chiswell said he was pleased that about 40 planes were due to turn up.

‘We have been encouraged by the response particularly because of the absence of aviation fuel at the airport which means pilots will need to fly to Guernsey to refuel and will also be charged for additional landing fees there,’ he said.

‘Given that the private aviation sector is one of the island’s biggest contributors to the island’s visitor economy, it is hoped this issue will be resolved as soon as possible.’

Mr Chiswell said Alderney’s politicians were aware of the issue, but were more focused on the larger runway project.

The petrol tank is separate from the kerosene tank, which is used to refuel Aurigny’s Dorniers.