Four flights were left holding overhead when fog rolled in. Two ended up being diverted to Southampton and one to Exeter, with the Manchester flight the only one to land in Guernsey.
Aurigny issued a statement yesterday, following the travel disruption.
‘Aurigny made an investment in its three owned ATR72-600 aircraft some years ago, recognising the impact fog can have on Channel Island operations and in Aurigny’s spirit and culture of always trying its very best to get islanders home,’ it said.
‘An aircraft that successfully landed last night, 18 June, in low visibility, was fitted with an Enhanced Vision System. The EVS system facilitates landings at up to 350 metres of visibility, versus 550 metres without – a 36% improvement.
‘Over the lifetime of an owned aircraft that remains in a fleet for many years, the technology provides a significant return on investment by reducing the number of diversions and the associated hotel accommodation costs, which can be considerable over time.’
For three of the aircraft, the visibility levels were far below 350 metres.
‘Aurigny’s experienced crew made several attempts, but on this occasion, in the best interests of safety, the aircraft diverted to an alternate airport.’
Two inbound flights from London Gatwick, one from Southampton and the one from Manchester were the top four most tracked flights on Flightradar24 on Thursday night, with more than 12,000 people watching.
Aurigny faced more delays yesterday due to a number of aircraft being out of position in the morning.
‘Aurigny’s operations and customer services teams have been working hard today to get our community where they need to be,’ said the airline.
‘Aurigny would like to thank its travellers and the community for their patience, kindness and support.’
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