Aurigny has apologised over the latest disruptions to its Alderney routes.
The airline has said some services will be disrupted or cancelled this weekend and into next week because of “unforeseen pilot absence at Skybus”.
“Selected” flights on the Guernsey and Southampton routes from Saturday 21 March to Thursday 26 March would be affected, an Aurigny spokesperson said.
“The decision to cancel selected services over a six-day period has been taken now to ensure that alternative arrangements can be made for all affected passengers and to provide as much advanced notice as possible,” they added.
Emails would be sent to affected customers, so there was no need for anyone to contact the airline, the spokesperson said.
However, Philip Saunders, Aurigny’s Chief Commercial Officer, said the company’s “dedicated Customer Services team are on hand to provide all the support you would expect with amending itineraries as required”.
‘Falling short’
Skybus Managing Director Jonathan Hinkles, apologised “unreservedly for the inconvenience caused to the community in Alderney”.
“We care deeply about this mission and understand the importance of delivering vital lifeline services to island communities – and we recognise this falls short of what is expected.
“We took immediate steps to advise Aurigny as quickly as possible of our operational capabilities at this time – and to ensure they can support customers with the best alternatives possible.”
Mr Hinkles said Skybus was “doing everything” it could to train up pilots and crew on the Twin Otter planes, to “build appropriate resilience for Alderney’s connectivity long into the future”.
Heavy rebuke
Alderney’s government recently got a public telling off from the States Trading Supervisory Board (STSB) – Aurigny’s only shareholder – when it raised concerns over the airline’s performance.
Deputy Mark Helyar, STSB President, said Alderney’s politicians broke “protocol” by contacting the STSB and said their claims were not supported by the data.
He even went as far as accusing Alderney’s top committee – Policy and Finance – of trying to “interfere in the governance” of the Guernsey-based airline.
However, P&F President Jeannie Cameron dismissed Deputy Helyar’s objections, saying his response was “not conducive to the spirit of cooperation that should underpin working relationships across the Bailiwick”.
She told Express it was “entirely appropriate” for P&F to contact STSB to “obtain clarity on the situation”.
Ms Cameron the reliability of air services to Alderney was “an issue that has been consistently raised by members of the Alderney community”.