Nonsensical Emas debate is taking up valuable airtime
THE concept of Emas is an expensive waste of time, and worse still, the debate is diverting attention about Guernsey Airport away from where it urgently needs to be focused.
An Emas installation on one or either end of the runway will still mean that the available landing distance in one direction will be the same as today, at 1,460 metres. When airlines look at serving Guernsey, they will see the worst-case scenario – not the conditions that might be achieved when the wind is helpfully blowing in the right direction on a dry, sunny day.
As the physical length of the runway strip is only 1,703 metres, there is also no way that installing an Emas on both ends could increase the declared distance for landing or take-off to 2,000 metres. It’s risible to claim otherwise.
There’s also another huge problem which is being conveniently ignored. Even if more runway length was made available, Guernsey’s runway is not strong enough to bear the weight of larger aircraft such as Boeing 737s or Airbus A320s. An Airbus A320 would be restricted to taking around 60% of its potential combined passenger and fuel weight on take-off from Guernsey, and that figure falls yet further for a 737.
This would impose huge limits on the number of passengers that could be carried on larger aircraft at Guernsey – completely defeating the objective of improving the viability of the island’s air links.
This nonsensical debate is taking up valuable airtime when there are very real issues which need to be addressed at Guernsey Airport.
Proposals for yet another above-inflation hike of airport fees in 2025 will lead to higher fares for passengers. Passenger numbers will fall as more and more people become unable to afford those higher ticket prices.
The airport’s operating hours are wholly inadequate to support based airlines flying a full schedule with adequate buffers against air traffic control or weather delays that they cannot control. That has already led to cancellation of flights this summer, and this will continue until a proper level of resilience is established on top of current opening hours.
There is a compelling and urgent need to stop wasting time on the Emas debate and instead focus on getting the airport and its existing facilities fully fit to serve the Guernsey community at a sustainable cost.
JONATHAN HINKLES
Senior-level adviser to airlines, airports and local transport partnerships