We need Blue Islands staff, says airline boss

Luke Farajallah, Loganair's CEO, hopes to recruit Blue Islands staff

Airline staff who lost their jobs after Blue Islands ceased operating are needed by the new company, Loganair's CEO has said.

The Channel Islands airline, which employed about 100 staff, announced on Friday that it had suspended trading and cancelled all future flights.

Bailiwick airline Aurigny began its rescue flights on Saturday, followed by Loganair on Sunday, to replace the cancelled routes to destinations including Jersey, Guernsey, Exeter and Southampton.

Two Loganair planes landed in Jersey within 36 hours of the announcement - the Government of Jersey said it had paid contingency costs to secure the services but would not confirm the amount agreed.

CEO Luke Farajallah said three sets of crews had flown over to cover the routes and that the company would be holding recruitment days on Monday and Tuesday in St Helier.

He added the airline wanted to "ramp up to a full schedule" by March following the initial rescue flights.

He said: "We very much hope that people who were employed by Blue Islands, if there is a job to map across to Loganair, can come and work for Loganair - we're going to need them.

"We don't like to see other airlines going out of business, but if I look purely at this as a commercial picture, Loganair in the Channel Islands is a good fit."

Mr Farajallah said islanders did not have worry about Loganair's finances as the company had "no government or bank debt".

He said: "Financial strength is everything - we have a clean balance sheet and we have a very keen interest in looking at every part of our business under a financial microscope.

"We're quite prudent and quite conservative with the investments that we make, but we make the right investments."

The CEO added that Loganair had completed the licensing process it needed to provide the Guernsey to Southampton route and that it was awaiting the States of Guernsey's approval.

Ports of Jersey CEO Matt Thomas asked islanders to "bear with us" for the first few weeks of new flights

Ports of Jersey CEO Matt Thomas said the whole situation had been "a bit of a rollercoaster" since Friday but that he was proud how it had been handled.

He said: "We're really feeling for our colleagues at Blue Islands, the suspension of their flights on Friday night and the impact that's had - it's all been quite quick.

"Most bookings for airlines like Blue Islands are within the next four weeks - I think what we can do is try and give alternatives and options to everyone that needed to travel over the next four weeks and then let's see what comes after that."

Mr Thomas said he expected the first few weeks to be "a bit clunky" but asked islanders "to bear with us".

He added: "I'm pretty optimistic that Jersey is an attractive location for airlines."