Such a dramatic decline on a key service for the local community has taken place against the backdrop of an overall rise in air passengers, with around 1.6million a year now choosing to fly to Jersey from all other routes.

But it is the marked fall in inter-island numbers which is a cause for concern.

For the first six months of this year, 60,000 passengers flew between the two islands, compared to 63,000 for the same period in 2015, and 66,000 in 2014 – a drop of 9% in two years.

Blue Islands operate the planes inter-island, but ticketing is all done through airline giant Flybe. If there are problems, passengers will usually complain to Flybe as that’s who sold the ticket, only to be passed to Blue Islands as the company operating the service.

After a series of cancelled flights over the summer, which led to a crisis meeting with senior politicians, Blue Islands says the recent addition of an extra plane to their fleet will result in a conspicuous improvement in service levels. The company’s MD is Rob Veron:

“There are now 233,000 seats available for a travelling market of 128,000 and up to 16 inter-island services per day, 12 operated by Blue Islands and 4 operated by Flybe providing the frequency and capacity to meet demand, with 13 of these services operating at peak times (0700-1000 & 1500-2000).

“Due to the ever increasing costs of airline operation, including airport and government charges, we continue to ask the States of Guernsey and States of Jersey if there is an opportunity to review charges for flights where organisations are considered to be community enablers.”

Tourism Minister Lyndon Farnham says it is crucial the Channel Islands has a worthy and reliable inter-island service.

He said: “The islands deserve a first class air service and I think that will be more possible now that an extra aircraft is available. I will be going to a meeting with Blue Islands on a monthly basis from now on with the intention of monitoring the service closely and I am optimistic that improvements will be made.”

The full story is in this month’s Connect magazine which you can read here.