Aim to attract airline routes with £2m investment

Deputy Kirsten Morel said he wanted to give airlines incentives to fly to Jersey

Ministers plan to spend £2m over the next two years in an attempt to persuade more airlines to fly new routes into Jersey.

Deputy Kirsten Morel told the States during a sitting that he wanted to give airlines incentives to fly here, adding the funds were not for the airport or local officials to spend.

A Channel Islands airline announced in December it would be introducing direct flights to Newcastle.

Mr Morel said he wanted to find new flights into bigger cities such as Paris - which Guernsey currently offers.

'Sustainable air routes'

He said: "We must appreciate commercial airlines only operate where there is profit to be gained.

"If Jersey is to succeed in having sustainable air routes over many years they have to deliver that to the airlines and that's where the better business support package comes in.

"It provides that incentive for the airlines to try it, but if an airline sees that it's not getting the return it wants it will cut any link."

A direct summer route between Jersey and Amsterdam was launched in 2022 but was cut less than a year after launching.