Options remain for Alderney
WITH every passing incident, many in Alderney and Guernsey must reflect how, and why, options for Alderney’s runway were so badly misjudged over the past few years.
The insanely over-ambitious option C-plus, with ATR flights and a new airport (and associated costs) was seized upon as the optimal solution, not only by the States of Guernsey but by Alderney too, when a considerable number of elected representatives, but sadly not a majority, warned that they would prove unviable and totally unaffordable. They were right, and frankly, it always looked like they were going to be.
All the while, the clock kept ticking and delays crept in on the project to the point that now the Alderney runway must be the number one priority in any new capital programme.
And the island’s approach has changed too, from optimistic talk of an ‘economic catalyst’ and ‘saving money in the long-term’, to ‘please don’t let us be cut off’.
The Alderney runway work must become a priority for Guernsey, and one suspects that those who will make the decisions know this.
But it must also be worth assessing genuine options for Alderney aviation and the public service obligation, as it is clear that the present Dornier service is considered barely acceptable and affordable, while others are out there trying to offer genuine solutions.