Deputy Lyndon Farnham said that Jersey was ‘keen to say yes to everything’ and had been disappointed by Guernsey’s approach in not allowing Loganair to operate in and out of the island, after it applied to run inter-island and Southampton services.
But Deputy Sasha Kazantseva-Miller, the president of the Economic Development Committee, said that Guernsey had operated a quasi-open skies policy since 2018, ‘which we have no intention of overturning’.
‘The framework provides stability and security on routes deemed essential to the economic resilience and social wellbeing of the Bailiwick,’ she added.
‘The policy reflects the realities of connectivity in small island communities, alongside the additional complexity of serving the wider Bailiwick, including our critical air links with Alderney.’
Deputy Kazantseva-Miller said that while Jersey’s air routes were fully deregulated and open to competition, it had still been caught up paying financial support to Blue Islands and then offering start-up assistance for Loganair to come into the island in Blue Islands’ place.
‘Events in 2025 demonstrated the fragility of island connectivity. The collapse of Blue Islands – and contingency planning undertaken between the Government of Jersey and Loganair on the essential Southampton route without Guernsey’s involvement – together with the absence of reciprocal inter-island ferry arrangements, highlighted the strategic importance of resilient inter-island links for Guernsey,’ she said.
‘This informed the committee’s decision to designate the Guernsey-Jersey air route as essential. Guernsey also became the only island government to secure guaranteed inter-island sea connectivity through contractual obligations with Brittany Ferries, alongside start-up support for Islands Unlimited.’
Transport Licensing Authority president John Gollop has also said that there was evidence that the two routes could not sustain competition.
The Jersey chief minister also complained about a lack of response from Guernsey to a proposal from DFDS to run another weekly service introducing a Guernsey leg into a Poole service.
Deputy Kazantseva-Miller said that the application had only been received last week. The proposal to serve Jersey passengers on a Friday sailing and Guernsey on a Monday with no reciprocal rotation was being assessed against port operational constraints.
She added that Guernsey and Brittany Ferries, as the exclusive ro-ro licence holders, had approved all DFDS requests to operate inter-island sailings.
‘It was therefore disappointing that most approved sailings were subsequently cancelled, contrary to the stated objective of strengthening inter-island connectivity.’
Guernsey has launched an inter-island ferry working group and invited Jersey and DFDS to take part.
‘We remain committed to a pragmatic, solutions-focused approach that delivers tangible benefits for our community, and we remain open to continued constructive engagement with Jersey,’ Deputy Kazantseva-Miller said.
Deputy Farnham described inter-island services as ‘a very small but important part of the economy’.
‘Jersey are here to develop inter-island transport, we want to work closely with Guernsey to do that and we’re open for further discussions and look forward to finding some solutions,’ he told the BBC.
‘I would like to see both islands double down to increase the opportunity for travel, we have to bear in mind the economies of scale, there is not a huge demand for inter-island travel but that is not helped by the way it’s been limited.
‘We work well in other areas but I think we have got to really try harder to find a solution on inter-island travel.
'It’s not terribly big economically, but it’s hugely important socially.’