A Guernsey licensing decision intended to safeguard lifeline air services is now being blamed for widening the Channel Islands’ connectivity gap.
The criticism follows a move by Guernsey’s Transport Licensing Authority (TLA) to provisionally reject Loganair’s applications to operate several routes to and from the island – including the Jersey service – while approving Aurigny, which is wholly owned by the States of Guernsey.
The move effectively gives Aurigny a monopoly over inter-island services.
Deputy Montfort Tadier, Chair of Jersey’s Economic and International Affairs Scrutiny Panel, said he was concerned by what he described as a lack of cooperation between the two governments.
He said the handling of air routes risked repeating mistakes already seen in ferry travel, where political and commercial decisions have strained links between the islands.
Following the TLA decision, Loganair withdrew from the process but said it remained open to working with Guernsey in future.
“Vital that Jersey and Guernsey work together”
Guernsey Deputy Simon Vermeulen, who previously sat on the Economic Development and the Tourism Management Board, said this was something he said he would “absolutely” be in favour of.
“It’s not a small regional airline that suffers from a shortage of pilots or has reliability issues,” he added.
He also contended that, from a connectivity perspective, it was “vital that Jersey and Guernsey work together”, including enabling short inter-island breaks.
Guernsey Deputy John Gollop, who chairs the TLA, said the Authority’s decision was based on long-term sustainability rather than short-term competition.
Disjointed?
He said that, on this occasion, evidence suggested that strong competition on the routes could ultimately make services unviable for all operators.
Deputy Tadier said the decision had reignited concerns about the lack of joined-up thinking between the two islands on transport policy, particularly following last year’s contentious ferry tender process.
Deputy Tadier said he had “real concerns” that inter-island connectivity was becoming increasingly disjointed, questioning whether decisions taken in one island were sufficiently considering their wider Channel Islands impact.
He also raised concerns about how the Guernsey decision could affect the commercial viability of Loganair’s Jersey operation, given that potential routes into Guernsey were no longer available.
It comes after the islands’ respective Chambers of Commerce pledged to work more closely together, with early priorities including improving inter-island air and sea connectivity, coordinating policy positions and delivering joint events.
Guernsey Chamber of Commerce president Stephen Rouxel added: “By working more closely with Jersey, we can be more influential, more effective, and more ambitious in how we support businesses and shape the economic future of the Channel Islands.”
The first of these will be a Channel Islands Cooperation Breakfast Briefing in Jersey on 10 February.