Air travellers experience appalling service at an extortionate price

The economic loss for the island is incommensurable. No business can objectively plan to be based in Guernsey if they need to travel; and holidaymakers are spending more time at the airport than on the beach.

My daughter and I recently experienced, as many Aurigny customers in recent months, the appalling service at extortionate price offered to air travellers which makes me seriously question the competency of the current senior management team of Aurigny and the airport.

Those holidaymakers stranded at the airport are unlikely to return. The business people who had to cancel their meetings, or lost connections and hotel bookings will certainly not recover the economic loss. Not just the additional costs, but the incalculable level of inconvenience caused by having to explain to your boss that you will be late back to work, additional holiday allowance used or the loss of business opportunities to the island.

n Packed in a tiny, overcrowded lounge for hours, all the passengers showed a great amount of restraint, and friendliness to each other. It was lucky because none of the airport staff were to be seen. No support for families or single parents with small toddlers and babies, who were waiting for information.

No offer of sustenance for people who had been at the airport for half a day or longer. It made me ashamed of Guernsey.

n No communication in the lounge – people on their phone to the UK had better information on the delays than the staff in the lounge.

n Disorganised, no logic and no ability to forward plan – after a series of delays, our flight the 18.10 GR611 to LGW on 18 August, eventually left the island around 19.45 to return 20 minutes later because a light had come on in the cockpit. We had to disembark and then given the Exeter plane (because it seems fewer people were travelling to Exeter), however after 10 minutes in the plane, it was also cancelled because the airport was to close before the plane returned and therefore would have had an impact on the 7am flight – why could they not keep the airport open, or work out before we got in the plane that it would be too late and release us earlier? My daughter and I were automatically rebooked on the 17.30 to London City the following day (which was subsequently cancelled again on the day, so a complete waste of time) – which meant my daughter would miss her flight to Canada to go back to university. The irony was that we booked to leave the day before precisely because of the unreliability of the airline. But to the point, why didn’t Aurigny book anyone on the 06.55 Blue Islands/Aurigny flight to Southampton (that they code-share)? The flight was half full when booked through Blue Islands. There were seats available as we left Guernsey, which would have got passengers out of the island.

n Pilots and cabin crew were very apologetic but very fed-up: very clear that both pilots and cabin crew were appalled as much as the passengers by the way the event unfolded and how the passengers were being treated. Whilst they were trying to get us to destination, their management showed complete incompetence in planning. Why transfer passengers to a new plane to sit on it for 15 minutes before someone realised the plane would not have enough time because Guernsey airport was closing, and they would not have time to bring it back?

Unfortunately, the poor management of this airline and its sheer incompetency are a total embarrassment for Guernsey.

The airport: I do not envy anyone positioned at Aurigny nor at the airport – their management offers them no support. Young staff put on the frontline without enough training – the young employee that was behind the check-in counter had been in the job for two weeks and did not know how to use the Blue Islands system (because Aurigny staff check in Blue Islands passengers) and therefore did not know how to book two suitcases. More delays.

n It is clear there is not enough staff, as they trickled in before 6am. There was no information clerk, which meant check-in staff were answering queries of passengers with cancelled bookings as well as trying to check the passengers, which created even more delay and longer queues.

n The morning duty manager barely spoke to passengers and seems to try to ignore them.

He completely lacked empathy for passengers that just had their plane to Manchester cancelled in the morning, after the mess of the previous day. I suspect he had no answer or solution to give them.

n Layout of the airport. May I ask why there are six check-in machines in the middle of the check-in hall surrounded by tape? They obviously don’t work. No one knows where to line up and the signage is appalling, especially if you are meant to check in with Aurigny for a Blue Islands flight. Is it really the best place for them?

n Regarding the previous point on the lack of space in the air-side lounge, there are very large unused spaces which could be better utilised when you have surplus passengers waiting, especially the upstairs where they would have access to a food and drinks and children’s play area (as there is none in the current lounge).

n Even the Wi-Fi was unavailable, making it impossible for people from the UK who did not want to roam to receive information, professionals wishing to work, or parents wanting to entertain their children to access the internet.

I have lived long enough on the island to forgive the delays due to weather, but this is self-inflicted. Too many ATRs are ‘going tech’ – I am not from the airline industry, but I understand that over-running your assets will not mean a better service but higher likelihood of accidents or cancellations. ATRs are obviously not meant for such high turnarounds which allows no time for maintenance or checks (proof, our plane that left, then for the pilot to realise that something was wrong). Notwithstanding the issue of staffing, I would be concerned that with the very poor operation most of the front-line staff, pilots and crew will be fed-up and demotivated (if not already) which would leave the airline in even more of a broken-down state. There could be some serious safety issues. It is time someone realised the strategy of more rotations, with small planes, is not working and make changes. ATRs are from the mid-eighties, it is time that Guernsey starts planning for the 21st century.

I would finally add, it is fine trying to make the airport and the airline profitable (which I don’t believe, based on the number of complaints/compensation/ additional leased planned/maintenance) but that cannot be at the expense of the rest of the economy. The island needs also to have the back-up of a larger more reliable way of transport (bring back the jet) to face the economic challenges that inevitability will result from having a lack of transport infrastructure.

I am not even addressing the issue of costs of the tickets which I believe are exorbitant despite the low prices falsely advertised and hardly affordable for some families.

I hope you will absorb this feedback as well as the feedback of so many passengers to start implementing some changes.

Sandrine Harris

An Aurigny spokesman responds:

We understand the importance of providing islanders, visitors, and businesses with reliable and resilient air links – these air links have helped Guernsey’s post-pandemic air travel volumes to recover at a rate on par or ahead of other Crown Dependencies. Aurigny has historically, and until January this year, maintained punctuality rates above the average of carriers operating to/from/within the UK, and the protection and reliability of Guernsey’s lifeline routes is our single highest priority. Aurigny is working with its shareholder on an upcoming review of the service but is confident its strategy of a standardised fleet and destinations such as London City and Paris, aimed at supporting both the local finance sector and the visitor economy, is the right one.

Guernsey Ports managing director Ross Coppolo responds:

I am very sorry to hear about your correspondent’s experience. Aurigny’s recent operational difficulties have been well-documented, as have the causes. This has presented considerable challenges not just for the airline, but for the airport also. We are not unique in that respect – significant flight disruption will present problems for any port operator. I fully take on board the criticisms with regard to the airport’s own operations, but I must also acknowledge the commitment and dedication of the Guernsey Ports’ team, which has consistently gone above and beyond to meet the many challenges over an extended period.

That said, we will take account of the points raised by your correspondent and consider where we can potentially

make improvements. I appreciate the frustrations that this experience will have caused them, and I thank them for their feedback.