With the publication of its Annual Report for 2025, we’ve pulled out some statistics to show exactly how valuable the work of the volunteer crew of the Channel Islands Air Search is.
With 26 callouts during 2025 it means the crew and support team were called upon for help on average once every fortnight.
The majority of the call outs were fully based at sea.
The call outs came from a variety of sources including predominantly Guernsey Coastguards, but also other services across the Channel Islands and France.
26 callouts
The total number of 26 calls for help received during 2025 was lower than the 32 call-outs the CIAS answered in 2024. However, the aircraft was off-island for seven weeks in the autumn for scheduled maintenance.
That means the CIAS crew actually answered one call every 12 days on average, when the aircraft was available, as its availability was reduced.
With the exception of October when the aircraft was off-island for the entire month for its scheduled maintenance, the service was called on every month during 2025.
The busiest months for call-outs were April, June, and July.
The CIAS was busiest during day time hours with 38% of all call outs made between the hours of 21:00 and 07:00.
Of the 26 calls for help received during 2025 the CIAS crew were stood down before take-off on just six occasions.
That means the Lions Pride was dispatched 20 times over just 45 weeks last year.
It’s understood that on the six occasions where the CIAS was stood down before it had taken flight the casualty had been located prior to the aircraft taking off.
Calls for help during 2025 ranged from missing persons on land and persons in the water to overdue vessels.
The majority of call-outs were for marine rather than land-based searches.
The average duration of a search was around two hours.
48 training exercises
In addition to the 26 calls for service, the CIAS crew took part in 48 flight exercises during 2025.
This included monthly ground training sessions, and numerous fundraising events and presentations, including hangar visits.
Crew members are required to maintain currency by flying three times in a rolling 90 day period, and regular training flights are undertaken to maintain skills.
In addition to these currency flights, crew members are given the opportunity to take part in exercises with other agencies.
One example of such exercises took place in April 2025 with a simulated Man Overboard exercise with at Bouley Bay on the north coast of Jersey.
Jersey Coastguard tasked the crew to search for a 32-year-old man wearing a red jacket and a yellow hat who had gone overboard.
Arriving on scene at 19:23, a visual search was commenced at an altitude of 500 feet and a speed of 90 knots. At 19:27, visual contact was made with an object matching the description of the casualty and a smoke marker was immediately deployed.
Jersey’s Inshore Lifeboat was directed towards the smoke marker and quickly located the casualty. The Lions’ Pride was stood down at 19:35.
20 dedicated volunteers
The CIAS currently has 19 volunteer crew members which includes pilots, search directors, and observers.
Each person collectively gave more than 2,070 hours of voluntary service during 2025.
There was one fewer volunteer during 2025 compared to 2024, with each volunteer giving an additional 20 hours on average to the service.
At least two new crew members are being brought on as probationary Search Crew Under Training members during the first quarter of 2026.
Following John Fitzgerald’s retirement one of the existing crew members who is currently trained as a camera operator and has previous experience as an RNLI crew volunteer has commenced training for the resulting vacant Search Director role.
The CIAS said: “the current crew complement is considered broadly sufficient, given the number for calls for service and need to keep all members current with regular training flights.
“The service is nevertheless always keen to hear from those who may be interested in volunteering, in whatever capacity is best suited to that individual, whether that be as operational crew or fundraisers.”
Engineering
The main aircraft maintenance event during 2025 was the SB190 Corrosion Check which is mandated to be undertaken every two years for Islander aircraft that is more than five years old.
No corrosion issues were found on the Lions’ Pride but given the extensive nature of the inspection task and some other issues such as a propellor needing to be returned under warranty and replaced this meant the aircraft was out of action for seven weeks during October and November.
During that time, the onboard PC was upgraded to be able to install the latest version of the CarteNav software used by the CIAS’s camera operators.
This new system enables them to overlay details of planned search patterns, the CI Control Zone boundaries, and AIS all of which helps to facilitate much enhanced situational awareness for the operator.
“This very expensive upgrade was made possible by a very generous and unexpected donation from a trust,” said the CIAS.
Future projects include possible installation of a fixed Tetra radio to enhance communication capability with land-based assets such as the emergency services and Civil Protection and replacing the current Koden marine radar with a solid state Furuno unit.
“The current Koden radar unit is dated and provides very limited information,” explained the CIAS. “The proposed Furuno unit is compatible with the new search mapping software and provides information that is integrated into the mapping software, rather than using a separate screen. The hardware itself is relatively inexpensive, but the approvals and design work to install it have been previously estimated at around £15,000.”
Britten Norman recently relocated its aircraft production to its Head Office and factory at Bembridge on the Isle of Wight and the CIAS was invited to an Open Day for UK Operators which was attended by Accountable Manager Nick Griffin, Colin Ferbrache, and Graham Guilbert.
This “was very useful for enhancing communication for ongoing service support,” said CIAS. “We also have ongoing scheduled quarterly update meetings with our designated After Sales Support Manager which are proving beneficial.”
Friends of CIAS
The Friends of Air Search in Guernsey and Jersey raised thousands of pounds during 2025 which was “vital to the ongoing running costs of the organisation”.
Events included a Runway Run in Jersey, quiz nights, Rock ‘n’ Roll Bingo and having stands at events such as the West Show in Guernsey, Christmas Fairs, Seafront Sundays and Late Night Shopping.
The foreign currency scheme operated by BATIF Bureau d Change has now raised more than £25,000 since its inception. This allows people to donate any unwanted notes and coins of any currency, even if obsolete, using Freepost currency envelopes.
Corporate donations remain very important to the charity and CIAS said “we were very grateful to receive support from several business across the islands during 2025 either by choosing Air Search as their ‘Charity of the Year’, donating a percentage of takings or members of staff holding fundraising activities, including a sponsored marathon by a member of Jersey Seafaris”.
CIAS Crew member, James Duguid, also undertook a grueling sponsored cycle ride in Northern France to raise funds for the charity in June.
“We particularly enjoy being involved with events where members of the public can see Lions’ Pride at close quarters and also meet our volunteer crew,” added the CIAS.
“Meet the Pilots in May and Guernsey Aero Club’s Wings & Wheels static display in August again presented great opportunities for this. We were also very pleased to be able to showcase the aircraft outside Hangar Two in Alderney following another very successful Flag Day on the Northern Isle in June.”