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Repeated delays and cancellations experienced by Guernsey’s airline over the past weeks could be repeated throughout March as it battles with technical issues with aircraft and crew.
The States-owned airline said the significant disruption has been compounded by “unforeseen” technical difficulties affecting the Embraer jet and ATR fleet on top of scheduled maintenance and inclement weather.
Annual maintenance is ongoing for one ATR and a Dornier aircraft which serves the Alderney route, and Aurigny say while teams are working hard on them, “service resilience will, however, continue to be fragile during March whilst we await the return of aircraft undergoing planned maintenance in Europe”.
Third-party aircraft have been brought in recently to enable services to continue, with Blue Islands and Heston Air among those asked for help. But Aurigny said a shortage of crew from “one of our standby aircraft capacity suppliers” hampered efforts over the last weekend.
It was hoped the two aircraft which unexpectedly went tech would be back in service this week, but some issues continued into this morning, with the early Southampton flight cancelled and delays to the late morning Gatwick services.
Guernsey Ports have granted extensions to airport operating hours throughout the disruption.
Aurigny have apologised for the disruption, and said: “We do not take the decision to cancel flights lightly, and every cancellation is made with careful consideration of customer safety and operational feasibility within our permitted operating hours.
Pictured: Disruption to some flights continued this morning.
“We fully understand the frustration and inconvenience caused by the unexpected cancellations and delays, and we want to assure you that addressing these issues is our top priority,” it added.
“We recognise the impact that flight cancellations and delays can have on your plans and commitments and sincerely apologise for the impact it has had.
“We appreciate the patience and understanding you have demonstrated during this challenging time, particularly in your interactions with our frontline staff and thank you for your continued trust in Aurigny.
“Our dedicated teams will continue to work tirelessly around the clock to minimise further disruption, rebook affected customers, and ensure that everyone reaches their intended destinations as soon as possible.”
The spate of disruption caused many residents to question the reliability of services on social media across the weekend, with some passengers left waiting in Guernsey Airport for several hours waiting for flights.
By the start of next month flights will have resumed to Dublin, while new services to London City and London Stansted will commence, as well as a twice-weekly service to Paris, and a thrice-weekly service to Liverpool.
Express has asked the airline how it will juggle these routes on top of existing commitments with the current number of aircraft in the fleet.
Aurigny plans to remove its Embraer 195 jet from service this year to streamline the fleet and reduce costs, with two additional ATR aircraft set to be leased in. It’s unclear when this will happen.
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