By popular demand... Corsica on Aurigny’s summer schedule
Bastia in northern Corsica was revealed as Guernsey travellers’ pick for direct flights this summer.
More than 1,000 people responded to an Aurigny survey asking islanders to vote for their favourite destinations from a list of options.
With Bastia coming out on top, there will be weekly services on Saturdays between 16 August and 20 September. The flight takes just over three hours.
The port city is known for its wine, and enjoys more than 2,600 hours of sunshine a year, compared to Guernsey’s average of around 1,900 a year. Average temperatures in August are about 25C.
During other Saturdays in the summer, Aurigny will be again offering flight to the Portuguese city of Porto in late May and early June, the French city of Nice in late June and the Spanish city of Alicante during July,
Aurigny chief commercial officer Sudeep Ghai said the airline was were pleased to offer more direct connectivity to Europe.
‘Our survey of islanders reaffirmed Alicante, Nice and Porto’s popularity, thus making a comeback for the summer season,’ he said.
‘We’re also delighted to be able to deliver the most demanded destination, and a first for Aurigny – Bastia in beautiful Corsica, for the peak summer season.’
The airline also took the chance to highlight that its performance had improved, with 91% of flights leaving within 15 minutes of scheduled departure in February. This compared to only 52% in December.
The 38 new summer flights from 17 May to 20 September will not displace any of the 3,618 existing flights over the same period, the airline confirmed.
Saturday afternoons are the quietest times for activity across Aurigny’s network, meaning the planes and crews would have gone unused if not for the new European flights.
