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Aurigny has confirmed that one of its Dornier aircraft is now back in action after Alderney was left without any commercial planes flying for nearly two days.
A technical issue grounded G-ETAC in Southampton earlier this week, while Aurigny’s second Dornier, G-OAUR, is currently undergoing its annual maintenance programme.
G-ETAC was stuck in Southampton, along with its passengers, on Tuesday after experiencing the un-confirmed technical issue.
Passengers were said to be "waiting patiently" in the departure lounge on Wednesday, with a regular traveller between Alderney and Southampton telling Express that he was still waiting to get home on Thursday afternoon. He said he is hopeful he will be home by tonight.
"The Aurigny staff at SOU have gone above and beyond the call of duty but it's a great shame that the Aurigny management don't have contingency plans for technical disruptions and other extraordinary circumstances," he said.
Another passenger, unrelated to the first, told Express that the situation had been "disgraceful".
They said that Aurigny had "hired small boats" to get passengers to their destinations, but "not every elderly person can get on to the boat".
They also alleged that some medical appointments and tests had been cancelled due to the aircraft's technical issue.
Pictured: G-ETAC was stuck in Southampton from Tuesday until Thursday after suffering a technical issue this week.
Aurigny confirmed the technical issue had grounded the plane on Tuesday, and said it has been now been resolved with the Dornier back in service.
The airline also confirmed that other travel arrangements were made available for passengers.
"Aurigny has worked closely with local ferry operators to provide alternative travel arrangements for its customers after G-ETAC experienced a technical issue at Southampton Airport on Tuesday, January 14," said a spokesperson.
"Aurigny engineers were quickly deployed to work on the aircraft and the airline’s crew has since completed the necessary test flight to return it safely back into service."
In images provided to Express, engineers can be seen working on the small aircraft which is one of a fleet of just two commercial planes flying between Alderney and Guernsey and Southampton.
The Aurigny spokesperson acknowledged the disruption caused this week, and apologised to passengers.
“We would like to thank our customers for their understanding and patience while our engineers worked hard to get G-ETAC safely back into service for our community - we apologise for the inconvenience this has caused.”
Pictured top and above: Images supplied to Express.
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