A public meeting will be held at Alderney Island Hall at 3 .p.m today to discuss the future of air transport on the Isle of Alderney in the Channel Islands. Members of the public will be encouraged to share their views with the representatives of regional airlines, and local politicians. The States of Alderney, which govern the island, have said that they “recognise and remain committed to the importance of maintaining open dialogue with islanders on matters relating to Alderney’s air links and connectivity.”
Why is the meeting being held?
Attendees of the meeting will be able to question airline representatives on their plans for Alderney’s air connectivity and operational resilience. There will also be discussions held on the island’s provision of medical evacuation services, according to the States of Alderney.
This follows the protest held at Alderney Airport on Mar. 22. Roughly 200 people attended, almost 10% of Alderney’s population. Protestors voiced their objections to cancellations of ‘lifeline’ services, which connect Alderney to the island of Guernsey and Southampton on the UK mainland.
Local resident Nigel Dupont told ITV News that the island “can’t go on like this. The island is suffering everywhere, from business to tourism.”
Who is attending the meeting?
Alderney Airport’s Guernsey and Southampton routes are supplied to the regional airline Aurigny, who are based at nearby Guernsey Airport.
Aurigny services 15 different airports across: the Channel Islands, the UK, Ireland, and France, and will be represented at this afternoon’s meeting by CEO Nico Bezuidenhout and Chief Commercial Officer Phillip Saunders.
Bezuidenhout told protestors on Mar. 22, that he’d:
“like to apologise to passengers for any disruption they may have experienced over the last couple of months.” He said that Aurigny “can take ownership of technical reliability and staff shortages when they occur.”
Saunders meanwhile said that Aurigny was “working closely with Skybus at this time to ensure that services meet the standards our communities desire.”
Skybus is a Cornish regional airline, who have aircraft and crew based at Guernsey and Southampton Airports, which often operates services on Aurigny’s behalf.
It will be represented at the meeting by their CEO Jonathan Hinkles, who:
“apologised unreservedly for the inconvenience caused to the community in Alderney” by the series of cancellations at the start of the year, following March’s protest.
The Chief Commercial and Head of Procurement from the States of Guernsey, Simon Steele, will also join Members of the States of Alderney at the meeting. Finist’air, the French airline which runs seasonal services between Alderney and Jersey, will not be represented, however.
Are you an Alderney resident? How do you think the Island’s air services could be improved? Let us know in the comments.
