Contingency costs paid for Loganair service

Deputy Kirsten Morel says the Government of Jersey has paid contingency costs for Loganair's immediate services

The Government of Jersey has paid contingency costs to secure replacement services for the island after an airline ceased operating, the economic minister has said.

Blue Islands confirmed on Friday it had suspended trading and cancelled all future flights to destinations including Jersey, Guernsey, Exeter, Bristol and Southampton.

Airlines Aurigny and Loganair have stepped in to offer one-way rescue flights at a fixed rate for Blue Islands passengers stranded after the company's collapse.

Deputy Kirsten Morel said the "contingency service" provided by Loganair - a backup plan agreed in response to the unexpected events - would give Jersey more resilience on air routes.

Ports of Jersey said two Loganair planes would arrive in Jersey just after 14:00 GMT on Sunday to operate replacement flights to Southampton and Guernsey.

Loganair CEO Luke Farajallah said the airline wanted to "ramp up to a full schedule" by March to replace the lost Blue Islands flights.

Two Blue Islands planes have sat dormant at Guernsey Airport since the announcement on Friday

Morel said the UK airline would pick up all the routes Blue Islands offered within 10 days, but the government would be paying some of the contingency costs.

He would not comment on the amount agreed and neither would the island's treasury minister.

Morel said: "We are having to pay costs of contingency, not all the costs - Loganair are also picking up some of the costs.

"So, there is a cost to this for government and the contingency solution does need cost and some funding from that perspective."

He added that getting the planes in "at short notice" meant services could "continue almost uninterrupted".

When asked about supporting Blue Islands, Treasury Minister Elaine Miller said there was "a limit" on how much the government could subsidise an airline

Blue Islands borrowed £8.5m from the Government of Jersey to help secure its services during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Deputy Elaine Millar said the government did not withdraw support for the airline and contingency plans had been in place.

She said: "We've been speaking to Blue Islands for a long time and we've been looking at numerous options.

"Any employees who are affected - they will get very quick support through employment, social security and housing and they can contact them in terms of what funding that will be available to them so they shouldn't lose out in terms of any outstanding wages or redundancy."

Morel said he really "felt for" Blue Islands employees but that the government had the done the right thing by putting contingency plans in place.

He said: "Loganair know what they are doing... they are a really good contingency provider.

"Into the future, I think that resilience they will bring to our resilience and connectivity is something islanders will really appreciate."