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Aurigny has announced a "comprehensive range" of flights to its major UK destinations from mid-September, in a move that suggests travel restrictions could be relaxed next month.
The States-owned airline has scheduled three Gatwick services per day, twice daily Southampton flights and daily flights to Manchester from 21 September.
Other regional hubs will not be provided as a daily service, but will still be offered several times per week under the airline's plans, which rely on Guernsey moving to Phase 5c.
Pictured: A table showing how frequently flights will be offered from Guernsey for the winter programme.
No date for Phase 5c has been set and details of how it will work in practice have yet to be confirmed.
“These schedules are a positive signal of our intent to offer the Bailiwick as comprehensive a service as we think the market can sustain, recognising that demand for air travel is expected to be considerably lower in the months ahead," said Malcolm Coupar, Aurigny’s Commercial Director.
"Whilst planned frequencies will be less than last winter, Aurigny will still be offering a comprehensive range of services to London, Alderney, Manchester and Southampton, whilst maintaining important regional connections to Birmingham, Exeter, Bristol and East Midlands.”
Nothing has changed: we will be logistically ready to move to Phase 5c; but no decision has yet been made to do so from any given date.
— Gavin St Pier #MoveForwardTogether #GsyPartnership (@gavinstpier) August 21, 2020
Pictured: Chief Minister Gavin St Pier has clarified the States' thinking following a report this morning by other media saying that the island will move to Phase 5c in mid-September.
Mark Darby, Aurigny’s Chief Executive, said the airline has to be "upfront with our customers so they are aware that the restrictions may not change, in which case we’ll need to cancel their flights."
“Although the environment for travel around the world remains very fluid, we know that many of our customers are eager to start planning for travel this winter, so we are releasing these updated schedules from 21st September."
Pictured: Helping to devise the winter schedule is likely to be one of Mark Darby's final acts as Aurigny's Chief Executive, after it was announced that he would be retiring later this year.
“However, we also know and understand why the States cannot yet commit to a date for moving to Phase 5c and any further relaxation of the self-isolation rules. We have to be realistic and acknowledge that, without further changes in the self-isolation requirements, demand is most unlikely to pick up to the level needed to make this flying programme viable. Therefore this schedule will be subject to change if demand does not warrant it being flown.
“All airlines are facing this kind of challenge where it’s very difficult to plan for even a few weeks or months in the future. We need to prepare for the possibility that more travel with fewer restrictions will be possible, which is why we are announcing this new schedule."
The airline has committed to giving passengers a minimum of two weeks’ notice if there are any delays to the start of this schedule or any cancellations.
Pictured: STSB President Peter Ferbrache said the States-owned airline had made a "balanced decision" on what flights to reintroduce and at what pace.
Deputy Peter Ferbrache, President of the States’ Trading Supervisory Board, said the airline has the unenviable task of trying to anticipate "so many factors outside its control" that are affecting travel plans.
“Having maintained our lifeline services throughout the Covid crisis, its management now have to make a balanced decision as to when is the appropriate time to aim for a reintroduction of more services, recognising any impact this will have financially, but minimising as best they can the impact on the travelling public.
"We are all having to deal with many uncertainties and, in the circumstances, I think the approach being adopted by Aurigny is a pragmatic and sensible one.”
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