Guernsey Press

This was not a Guernsey welcome

THE fact that somebody at the airport might have thought it was appropriate to turn off the lights, lock the doors, and leave a dozen people, many of them thought to be holidaymakers, outside the deserted building late on Sunday night is a matter of shame, both for Guernsey Ports and for the island as a whole.

Published

What impression would that have given of the island for those visitors? Would islanders expect similar treatment if they were to arrive at their holiday destination to a similar ‘welcome’?

It clearly was not acceptable, and it was a relief yesterday to be told by Guernsey Ports and the Environment & Infrastructure Committee that they will take steps to ensure it does not happen again.

Quite what that solution might be remains to be seen. It is unlikely that there will be buses available on a standby basis at such short notice – but certainly fog-related delays would have been known in advance and could have been flagged and addressed.

It would be easy to blame taxi drivers, but not wholly appropriate. The industry clearly has its own challenges at present, and the States’ review of it cannot come quickly enough. We should hope it includes some quick fixes.

All islanders have a responsibility to make every Guernsey holiday a happy one, all the way from arrival to departure – and this airport incident, and similar, regular scenes at the harbour, we understand, was not the way to do that.