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Extending the island’s runway is essential if Guernsey is going to bounce back to pre-pandemic visitor figures, according to the Guernsey Retail Group (GRG).
The GRG has come out in “full support” of the proposed extension of the airport’s runway.
It comes as the States Assembly prepares to debate an Economic Development Policy Letter, in which the Committee intends to shift the decision on whether an extension is viable to the States Trading and Supervisory Board.
The GRG has chosen to comment after Deputy Simon Vermeulen, a member of ED himself, lodged an amendment against his own Committee’s Policy Letter which would speed up a future extension.
He wants to prioiritse the introduction of EMAS (Engineered Material Arresting System) to facilitate the extension of the runway to 1,623 metres.His argument being that it would futureproof the island’s economy.
EMAS is a crushable material laid at the end of a runway that can slow down a plane if it overruns.
Pictured: Deputy Vermeulen.
The GRG believes a longer runway is key to getting visitor numbers back to pre-pandemic levels.
“2023 was supposed to be a recovery year for tourism but the figures for May and June show a significant drop of around 20% compared with 2019,” said Head of Retail Development, Korinne Le Page.
“This large fall in visitors to the Island has negatively influenced the revenues seen by some High Street retailers.”
“We have not seen any strategy produced to date by any of the stakeholders to rectify this, so wholeheartedly support the amendment proposed by Deputy Vermeulen to extend the runway and prioritise the introduction of a EMAS system.”
Pictured: Visitor statistics.
Mr Le Page said Guernsey needs to be accessible to bigger, industry standard aircraft.
"Over time, this could significantly increase arrivals to the Island and benefit many businesses including those in the retail sector.”
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