Campaigner questions Aurigny's customer service

Jayne Ozanne has called on the States-owned airline to be held accountable for delays and cancellations

A prominent campaigner has branded Aurigny's customer service as "atrocious" after facing delays in flying to Guernsey.

Former government adviser Jayne Ozanne's flight from Gatwick to Guernsey was cancelled on Monday, almost seven hours after it was due to take off.

She was told she had to find her own accommodation for the night and complained there was "absolutely no communication from Aurigny".

Aurigny said foggy conditions at Guernsey Airport delayed or cancelled flights, which had a "knock-on effect" on schedules, and it had made "every attempt to get all customers back to Guernsey".

'Begged'

Ms Ozanne, a leading LGBT+ rights campaigner, said the States had to "hold somebody accountable" following delayed and cancelled flights.

Her flight was supposed to depart at 16:15 BST and the expected take-off time was delayed several times.

At 22:45 BST, she called Guernsey air traffic control and "begged" them to get hold of somebody in Gatwick to find out what was going on.

"There was no staff, no people at the info desk, nobody answering the phones and there was nobody on WhatsApp," she said.

Eventually passengers were called to a gate and told their flight was cancelled.

The Guernsey-born campaigner said they were told to find their own accommodation.

"There were people with young children and elderly people; nobody knew what to do," she said.

Jayne Ozanne is a respected former equality adviser who has campaigned for LGBT rights

'Fall on their sword'

At the start of the year, Aurigny made the decision to stop communicating with its customers via Facebook, which was described as a "PR own goal" at the time by corporate communication expert Nick Britten.

"What we need is proper communication, contingency planning for these kind of situations and a complete step change in customer service," said Ms Ozanne.

She has called for the States, which owns Aurigny, to hold somebody accountable.

"Somebody needs to fall on their sword. It's been going on for far too long.

"I think it's time the States took their obligation to hold these people to account far more seriously," she said.

Ms Ozanne added that deputies were "defending the indefensible".

'Made every attempt'

Aurigny said it appreciated "the patience and understanding of passengers affected".

It said it "made every attempt to get all customers back to Guernsey, returning as many Aurigny aircraft to Guernsey as possible" and its customer services team "were working into the early hours of this morning to support customers affected".

It added that customers "were advised via text and email to check our live flight status for regular updates, as Aurigny, and all other airlines, cannot update message boards at London Gatwick".

“Our hotel and transport booking partner in the UK extended their opening hours to assist with booking customers into hotel accommodation, and those who could not be booked into our partner hotels were offered the option to book their own accommodation and claim costs back through Aurigny," staff said.