Aurigny has appointed some new “in-house” staff, focussed on ground handling and customer service at Southampton Airport.
The airline has recruited and trained an 18-strong team based in Hampshire to manage all customer service and ground operations.
They’ wi’ll be responsible for managing up to 70 flights per week between Southampton and Guernsey and Alderney.
Leading the new team is Station Manager for Southampton Andrew Causon, who has previously spent more than a decade managing aviation operations.
The airline said the new staffing arrangements are intended to give them direct control over operations, particularly regarding passengers requiring special assistance.
Aurigny says more than 1,500 passengers required special assistance on their Southampton flights over the past 12 months, with more than 75% of those requests related to mobility.
The airline expects this number to nearly double over the coming year, with that increase attributed to two main factors – the end of Blue Islands’ services on the route and Aurigny’s own expanded role in transporting medical patients.
According to Dave Cox, Aurigny’s Head of Ground Operations and Deputy Chief Operations Officer, the decision is intended to provide greater operational flexibility and improve consistent support for passengers on these lifeline routes.
“I am extremely pleased to welcome a new cohort of people to broaden the scope of our Aurigny service team in Southampton. With our dedication to this vital lifeline service, we recognise the need to have a team that can be flexible and deliver the highest level of customer service.
“Aurigny proudly boasts a history of over 50 years of operations at the airport, and growing our team to cover all customer and ground service functions for Aurigny for the first time demonstrates our commitment to customers in Southern England, Alderney and Guernsey, to ensure that a familiar, friendly face is there to support them at every step of their journey.”