Travellers between islands opt for ferries over flights

More than 69,000 people travelled through the airport during July, which was up on the 64,000 who travelled in June, but down on last July when more than 72,000 used the airport.

Jersey air travel has dropped from more than 7,700 last July down to less than 6,000 this year. This follows a general downward trend on the air route. During the first seven months of 2023 about 44,000 flew between the islands by plane. But so far in the first seven months of this year, just 38,700 have flown.

‘When looking at both harbour and airport stats, it demonstrates a shift in Guernsey-Jersey travel,’ Visit Guernsey has stated.

‘While Jersey arrivals and departures by air are -12% YTD, Jersey traffic by sea for the same period are +23% YTD.’

Looking at the sea numbers, 6,400 travelled between Guernsey and Jersey by ferry last July, compared to more than 8,600 this July.

Condor has confirmed an improvement in the number of passengers carried to and from Guernsey over the summer holidays in comparison to last year.

The company has looked at the summer figures from 14 July, when the schools broke up, and 3 September.

It saw a 2% increase in travellers on UK and French services, with 1,084 more car and foot passengers than in the equivalent period in 2023.

But inter-island services jumped by 75% – from 8,766 to 15,369 over the summer.

Condor CEO Christophe Mathieu stepped in to lead Condor earlier this year and in April the summer schedule was changed, with the carrier stating it was aiming to give passengers more frequent and regular sailings at more convenient times.

While there were grumblings at the time, the numbers show the move has paid off.

Mr Mathieu was pleased to see the positive result and said that the altered summer schedule was a contributing factor.

‘The figures are very encouraging and would not have been achievable under the previous timetable, which was adjusted at the start of the season,’ he said.

‘This offered improved frequency of sailings from St Malo and Jersey, along with extra capacity from the UK, thanks to Condor Islander’s first summer in service.’

Condor has also reported strong growth in late summer and autumn bookings across all routes, with car volumes returning to pre-Covid levels.

Blue Islands, which operates the inter-island air route, has been contacted for comment.