Aurigny launches investigation into 'shocking' staff allegation

The whistleblower, believed to be an employee of the airline, claimed that two staff members used ‘disgusting’ and ‘shocking’ language about disabled customers during a meeting held online earlier this month.

One member of staff was alleged to have referred to passengers using wheelchairs as ‘the lame and lazy’.

‘Half of them don’t even need it. They get out of the chair and all of a sudden they can walk,’ the member of staff was accused of saying.

In a discussion about what to do with disabled passengers in the event of a fire, another member of staff was alleged to have said ‘leave them and let them burn’.

The whistleblower claimed the words were heard by everyone in the meeting and that many of those present laughed at them.

‘This is absolutely disgusting. I was shocked to my core at what I was hearing from both of them,’ said the whistleblower in an email to Aurigny’s HR department which has been seen by the Guernsey Press.

‘I trust a thorough investigation will be carried out. I will be sending this on to the chairman of Aurigny.’

The airline knows the names of the members of staff accused. The Guernsey Press has also been provided with their names and job titles.

‘I feel the public of Guernsey deserves the right to know what a few members of staff think of disabled customers of Aurigny,’ said the whistleblower.

The whistleblower spoke of ‘major concerns over the integrity’ of the investigation which the airline has pledged to carry out.

An email sent to the whistleblower by Aurigny’s HR department, and seen by the Guernsey Press, starts with the salutation ‘Dear Colleague’ and thanks the person for raising the concerns, which it said were being ‘taken seriously’ and ‘addressed in line with internal processes’.

The email went on to say that Aurigny was ‘working to understand the full context of what occurred’, asked the whistleblower for ‘a confidential discussion’ and guaranteed that the whistleblower’s anonymity would be ‘fully respected’.

Aurigny provided the Guernsey Press with a statement over the weekend which it said could be attributed to a spokesperson for the airline.

‘We have received an anonymous email making certain allegations,’ it said.

‘We have asked the sender for further information but have had no response.

‘Notwithstanding this, we have already initiated an internal investigative process in accordance with our internal policies. This will consider the allegations and consider what action, if any, is appropriate.

‘It is important in the interests of fairness to all that we be permitted the opportunity to undertake this process. While we are doing so, we will not be able to say anything further.’

As well as reporting the alleged comments to Aurigny chairman Kevin George, the whistleblower also sent them to Peter Roffey, the president of the States' Trading Supervisory Board, which acts as shareholder of the airline on behalf of the States.

Deputy Roffey has since been in contact with Mr George about the matter.

‘When it reached me, I regarded it as a really quite serious allegation,’ said Deputy Roffey.

‘I contacted the chairman to find out how Aurigny intended to handle the matter. He has assured me that there will be a thorough and full investigation and that Aurigny will keep me and the STSB fully updated.

‘Obviously it’s an internal matter for Aurigny. The allegations are significant, but I am not going to pre-empt the outcome of the investigation.’

The whistleblower’s allegations are the latest in a long line of problems to have hit Aurigny in recent months.

The STSB has said that some problems have been of the airline’s own making and others have been unfortunate and unforeseen and recently announced a review into the airline’s reliability and fleet resilience.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch is also currently investigating two separate incidents involving Aurigny flights.