Further details have been revealed of a Ports of Jersey organisational shake-up which led to Jersey Airport being placed under “special attention” earlier this year.
Eight employees were put at risk of redundancy due to the restructure at the Airport – five of these in senior positions in its “operational leadership team” – with seven staff members ultimately leaving the organisation and one being promoted into a new role, according to Treasury Minister Elaine Millar.
She said Ports “worked closely with trade unions” throughout the process.
Five new positions were created at the same time to “better meet operational needs”, Deputy Millar added.
The new roles were head of customer operations, security compliance manager, operations planning analyst, aviation operations training manager and manager of air traffic control – with two of these roles going to external candidates and two to internal promotions.
The position of air traffic control manager remains vacant and is being covered by an “experienced professional” on an interim basis while recruitment for a permanent position is ongoing, Deputy Millar said.
The organisational changes led to the Airport being placed under “special attention” – which carried with it additional regulatory oversight and scrutiny – earlier this year by the Director of Civil Aviation.
The Government previously said this was the lowest level of escalation and carried “no risk” of any suspension of operations at the Airport.
Responding to a written question from Deputy Jonathan Renouf, Deputy Millar said: “This restructure reflects a considered approach to building a high performing, agile, effective leadership structure that is well positioned to support future growth and deliver the objectives set out in the Ports Policy Framework.”
A “key part” of the Ports Policy Framework was the integration of security, customer experience and terminal operations at the Airport, the Minister said, to “create a better experience for passengers and to improve efficiency”.
“Early results from this initiative have been positive: 99% of passengers are now queueing for less than 15 minutes at security and over 90% of baggage is delivered to the carousel in less than 20 minutes – metrics comparable with leading airports,” she said.
The external candidates hired had a combined 150 years of experience from other airports, Deputy Millar added.
A Ports of Jersey spokesperson previously said that the organisation continued to “work closely” with the DCA “who are providing support and oversight to ensure high safety standards and regulatory compliance are maintained whilst the new organisational structure is fully embedded”.
The Airport complied “with all aviation regulations and safe, secure operations will always be our most important priority”, the spokesperson added.