Fully independent expert review of Guernsey’s aviation future required

His letter only goes to show the complexity of the whole matter and the importance of well researched authoritative information.

We agree that there are real questions to be answered in his letter which is why we have called, with the Guernsey Hospitality Association, for a fully independent expert review of Guernsey’s aviation future. This ideally to be set up and managed by the States of Guernsey Policy and Resources Committee.

It must be clear to everyone by now that although Aurigny guarantees connectivity to the UK there are inevitable problems of a subscale airline, such as massive monopoly ticket overpricing and limited aircraft fleet resilience. The resulting service provided by Aurigny is simply no longer acceptable or affordable.

The question is, ‘Can a restructured Aurigny and a redesigned Guernsey aviation policy provide normal quality of service and competitive air fares, such as enjoyed by Jersey, as well as guaranteeing Guernsey-UK connectivity?’

The Guernsey Aviation Action Group believes the answer is an overwhelming yes.

BA, EasyJet and other airlines have written to the Policy and Resources committee expressing interest in flying into Guernsey. However, what are the terms and conditions they require to do so and what level of guaranteed connectivity can they offer? Furthermore can these larger airlines provide the same desirable quality of service and low ticket prices that they have been providing for years in Jersey, our main competitor?

Unfortunately we do not know the answer as the president of the Committee for Economic Development, Deputy Neil Inder, refused to ask them!

This failure, coupled with the level of general disinformation on social media leads us to the same conclusion as the Guernsey Hospitality Association.

The question of the future of Guernsey aviation policy must be brought to a close by an expert independent review as soon as possible and we sincerely ask the Policy and Resources Committee to move forward in this regard as soon as possible.

BARRY CASH

Chairman

The Guernsey Aviation Action Group