But the statistics have been ‘spun’, according to Alderney States member Steve Roberts, who said this summer’s service had been ‘disgraceful’.
Mr Roberts is leading an official working group of the island’s Policy & Finance Committee to review the island’s air links. It wants to hear what islanders think of services in the past few months.
The numbers were published in response to a Freedom of Information request made of the STSB.
It was asked to provide information about operational briefings, the operational model, access to the financial audit regarding the wet-lease agreement between Aurigny and Skybus, as well as details of reliability information.
The STSB declined to address most of the issues on the grounds of commercial sensitivity, although in the case of the financial audit it said it had never seen this nor held that information since the agreement was between Aurigny and Skybus.
But it did provide figures, which it said had been supplied by Aurigny.
They showed that, overall, the cancellation rate of flights – excluding weather – had dropped from 4.6% in the period from the beginning of November 2024 to the end of February 2025 to 1.5% for the same period from 2025-26.
During these periods passengers rose from 11,133 to 11,615 while the number of flights operated dropped from 1,056 to 1,029.
A total of 197 flights were cancelled, which was down nearly 8% from the previous year’s 214.
Evidence of worse weather this year can be seen by the cancellation of a total of 179 flights purely due to the conditions, compared to 155 last year – an increase of 15.5%.
But Mr Roberts was sceptical, and claimed that cancellations and punctuality info often ‘hid the real reasons for delay’.
‘I have a record of the bad days and cancellations abound, often caused by lack of crew or aircraft,’ he said.
He said that it seems STSB are ‘a little confused on the disgraceful service this summer Alderney have received’.
‘They should live on Alderney and try commuting for a month or two,’ he said. ‘Medical patients above all else suffer substandard and delayed urgent scans, chemo and operations.’
He called it a case of ‘political self-denial’.
Mr Roberts is chairman of the island’s new Air Connectivity Oversight Working Group, set up to drive a comprehensive review of the island’s air links. He said he had pushed for this to get independent proof of the airline’s performance through an independent review of air services to and from the island. It intends to look at operational statistics collected by local pilots, and passenger survey data collected by the Alderney Chamber of Commerce since February this year.
He has been joined on the group by fellow Alderney politicians Veronica Taylor and Kevin Gentle.
‘This review seeks to build a detailed evidence base to better understand the challenges facing Alderney’s air connectivity and the impact these have on our community and economy,’ Mr Roberts said.
‘I believe an independent review is the best way to establish a clear, evidence-based understanding of the issues and to identify what improvements may be needed to ensure Alderney’s air services meet the needs of the island. ‘I would encourage businesses, organisations and members of the community to share their experiences and contribute to this important piece of work.
‘Recent disruption has reinforced the importance of understanding the challenges facing Alderney’s air connectivity. Gathering evidence from those affected will help ensure the review is informed by the experiences of the community.’