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Jersey should develop as an air hub for people living around Cherbourg to fly to places like Liverpool, London and Amsterdam, according to the Economic Development Minister.
After a recent visit to Normandy, Deputy Kirsten Morel said that it had been an “eye-opening” trip and he had been “knocking on an open door” in terms of the willingness of the region to strengthen economic ties.
He said: “I am pleased that Jersey has air connectivity to places like Amsterdam and the UK, but my concern is that we are only 100,000 people, so how do we ensure that we maintain and grow this connectivity?
“Could people fly from Cherbourg to Jersey and onwards to London, to Edinburgh, to Liverpool, to Amsterdam, and potentially to Barcelona and Lisbon?
“The answer was a resounding 'yes'. They are 20 minutes from Jersey and the opportunity for Jersey to become an air hub for the whole region was one that really hit me hard.
“It also made me realise that this is how we maintain our connectivity.”
Pictured: Economic Development Minister, Deputy Kirsten Morel.
Deputy Morel said that Cherbourg Airport, which he visited last week, was “tiny” but 700,000 people lived within 90 minutes of it, who could fly to Jersey and onwards.
He added that there was untapped tourism potential from Normandy and Brittany which the island was failing to capture.
This included encouraging some of the 16.5m Americans who come to Normandy each year – principally to visit the D-Day Landing Beaches – to include a trip to Jersey in their itinerary.
Responding to the Deputy’s comments, Ports of Jersey CEO Matt Thomas said: “Growing connectivity is a key strategic priority for us.
"Having been one of the fastest recovering British airports last year, we are continuing to work closely with each of our airline partners to grow connectivity in the future.
“With strong links into the UK, the big opportunity for Jersey is to grow routes into Europe.
"Building on the introduction of Blue Islands’ Rennes route, and easyJet’s route to Amsterdam, we are fully aligned with the Minister’s enthusiasm to further develop links into Normandy and Brittany.”
Speaking in the States Assembly this week, Deputy Morel said he had also seen how the port of Cherbourg has become a centre for the manufacture, storage and distribution of offshore wind turbines, and how the port could be used to export building sand to Jersey.
The Deputy said he had spoken to a quarry in Normandy which was willing to supply sand. The island is currently importing sand from Belgium after Simon Sand & Gravel in St. Ouen’s Bay reached the limits of its permitted area of extraction.
The family-owned quarry was later allowed to dig from another part of the site, which will provide another ten years’ worth of sand, but this is subject to a detailed restoration plan, which the firm is currently discussing with the Environment Department.
When it comes to wind turbines, Environment Minister Jonathan Renouf has previously expressed support for the building of an offshore wind farm in Jersey's territorial waters, with an area west of St. Ouen's Bay identified in the Bridging Island Plan.
The area is close to a 500-megawatt wind farm being built north of St Brieuc, which is being supplied by ships operating from Cherbourg.
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