Apart from taking off more than 40 minutes late, there seems to have been little unusual about the 4.50pm flight. It took off to the east and was operated by one of Aurigny’s own ATRs – G-ORAI. It took a normal route – over the Channel to Southampton and before turning north to land just before 7pm.
But on that short flight, the plane had gathered quite an audience.
Website FlightRadar24 allows people to track flights in live time. And as the flight went on, its audience grew until it topped the website’s most tracked flight, with 1.3 million people. The surprising popularity had plane watchers scratching their heads.
The official FlightRadar24 Facebook page shared the flight twice in response to the unexpected interest. The first post was at 6.20pm to note that the flight became the website’s most watched flight, with 330,000 people. This caused the numbers watching to double in 10 minutes as people went to see what the fuss was about. Numbers peaked at 1.3m. just before the aircraft landed.
More than 1,500 people reacted to the social media posts, putting forward their own theories, from football transfers to a possible exciting cargo.
But even Aurigny does not know why the flight drew such interest.
‘For us, it was just a routine flight – Guernsey to Manchester is a trip we know well,’ said ATR first officer Tamer Birsen, who was piloting the plane.
‘After we climbed out of beautiful Guernsey, we were later welcomed with stunning, clear views over the south coast of England, past Portsmouth and then London.
'To discover afterwards this curious news that over a million people had been there watching with us was a real surprise – it’s great to have our 15 minutes of fame. Guernsey is a beautiful place, and it’s definitely well worth a real-world visit.’
VisitGuernsey marketing manager Sam Claxton said it was thrilled that so many people got a glimpse of the island, even if just virtually.
‘Whether it’s curiosity or coincidence, we hope this sparks journeys to discover our stunning coastline, rich heritage, and warm island hospitality. There’s so much here waiting to be explored, and people now know it's just a short flight from the UK.’
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