What's next for Alderney’s airport?

Tuesday 03 January 2023

With political backing in both Alderney and Guernsey for funding a new terminal building, fire station and runway, a multi million pound rebuild of Alderney's Airport is on the horizon, with 2025 the predicted completion date.

The expected price tag for the whole development is £24million.

£12m of that was originally committed by the States of Guernsey in 2019, with the States of Alderney promising last November to find up to £3.5m to add to the funding pot.

Pictured: Alderney States Member Alex Snowdon is one of the many vocal supporters for the runway and airport work.

Guernsey's States agreed last month to "extend and strengthen" the runway along with a new terminal and fire station.

Both the States of Alderney and the Island’s Chamber of Commerce ended 2022 by thanking supporters for the project in their island, as well as in Guernsey for what they've called the "complete rejuvenation" of the island’s airport.

Ian Carter, Chairman of Alderney's Policy & Finance Committee, said it had taken a lot of work to get to this stage and he was very grateful to all involved.

“This was a tireless campaign over many months spearheaded by our Alderney representatives Steve Roberts and Alex Snowdon and the supportive group of Guernsey States Deputies with an extraordinary amount of work behind the scenes, especially by the civil service on both Islands which provided clear and rational data throughout.

Deary me! Let's get fact and fiction correct.

Reported losses for Alderney air services between 2016-2019 was around 3 million pounds per year. Did you want to keep paying 3 million pounds each year? 10 years = 30 million, 20 years = 60 million! What was your plan? https://t.co/dix6GDgY6r

— Alex Snowdon (@AlexSnowdon5) December 29, 2022

“It was a team effort that involved all Alderney States Members and the civil service working in harmony with the Alderney Chamber of Commerce and many Islanders, especially young professionals with families. The support of the business community was crucial in this campaign, including a letter from high-net-worth individuals and business leaders who expressed their confidence in Alderney as an investment-worthy community with the right connectivity.

“The process of debate has reinforced the Bailiwick identity and the principle of working together for a prosperous future. While the decision reached by the Deputies expressed support for Alderney it was in the context of the whole Bailiwick and as Alderney’s new connectivity is developed it will feed into a shared economy between the Islands where Alderney will be a true partner playing its part in generating income for the Bailiwick to pay for the transferred services it requires.

Pictured: Ian Carter.

“However, this decision is just the start and now the hard work begins to bring the shared vision of the States of Alderney, the Guernsey States Trading Supervisory Board and Guernsey’s Policy & Resources Committee to fruition over the next two years.”

What's happening now?

The condition of Alderney's existing runway "remains a concern" and the early weeks of 2023 will see ongoing repairs to the surface to ensure flight safety.

This is being managed by Guernsey Ports with both Guernsey and Alderney working on the necessary regulatory approvals for the more complex work that is planned.

Both islands are also said to be working together "managing inflationary costs and avoiding construction delays".

What next?

Now that political support has been given to the project, and the finances have been agreed, there is still one hurdle to overcome.

The Civil Aviation Authority and European Union Aviation Safety Agency both have to give approval for the designs - known as 'Option C' throughout the lengthy discussions on the matter. Once that has been agreed, the project will go out to tender to find a construction partner. Both of those matters will be addressed within the first quarter of 2023.

Pictured: The approved plans for Alderney's airport.

Work to buy additional land to the west of the airport to allow the runway extension and repositioning of the track had started towards the end of last year and is believed to be in hand.

If all goes to plan it's expected that the preferred bidder will be appointed in quarter three of 2023 with planning applications for site construction compounds following before the end of the year.

The work is currently due to begin in 2024 and is then expected to be completed in quarter two of 2025.