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Aircraft towing, mooring charges and airport parking fees are all going up as Ports of Jersey aims to tackle £55m in losses driven by pandemic pressure.
The fees will be increased by 10.4% in line with September's inflation rate.
The extra income will be used as part of a multi-million pound investment plan over the next five years, with upgrades to the freight and passenger facilities at Elizabeth Harbour due to begin this year.
Car parking charges at the Airport will also increase in price. Parking in the long stay car park will increase from 80p to 90p per hour, and from 80p to £1 per 30 minutes in the short stay car park. Free parking for 30 minutes remains in place in the long stay car park.
Commercial fishermen will be exempt from the increase in mooring fees in view of the recent pressures on the local fishing, according to Ports.
"The price framework provided by the Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority provides for an increase in our annual fees by the September RPI plus 1%. We have decided not to include the extra 1%, but can understand that, for some of our customers, this will still seem like a significant increase," explained Ports' CEO Matt Thomas.
"The pandemic has had a significant impact on the aviation and maritime sectors, amounting to approximately £55 million in lost revenue for us. We are very proud that we did not seek any taxpayer support throughout the pandemic, and that our employees were redeployed at times to support other key agencies in the covid response.
"We are planning major capital investment at the Airport and Harbour, starting this year with improvements in freight and passenger facilities at Elizabeth Harbour. All of Ports of Jersey’s profits are used to invest in the Island’s critical services and infrastructure, and in the next five years we will be investing more than £100 million. In setting this increase we have kept the future sustainability of the Island’s connectivity, and the resilience of the Airport and Harbour infrastructure, at the forefront of our thinking.
"We are pleased to be able to support the Island’s fishing industry by exempting commercial fishermen from this year’s increase in mooring fees."
Fees are scheduled to rise at the Harbour from 1 March and at the Airport from 1 April.
Ports back in the black after 61% increase in air passengers (2022)
Ports' £8.2m loss shows impact of pandemic on island (2021)
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