Aurigny confirms schedule after airline collapse

Aurigny is offering flights from Guernsey to Jersey and Southampton after Blue Islands folded

An airline has confirmed an interim schedule for flights it is taking on after another operator ceased trading.

Aurigny has released a timetable for services from Guernsey to Jersey and Southampton, which were previously operated by Blue Islands, up to and including 17 December.

The Guernsey States-owned airline said it would operate two flights every day apart from Friday and Sunday on the Guernsey to Jersey route along with two or three services per day from Guernsey to Southampton.

Nico Bezuidenhout, Aurigny's chief executive, said the airline had plans to add more flights on the routes during Christmas and the rest of the winter schedule which would be announced "over the coming days".

Following Blue Islands' collapse, which led to all its flights being cancelled, Aurigny and fellow airline Loganair announced they would put on rescue flights to help displaced passengers.

Aurigny said flights up to Friday would be sold at a lower one-way fare to help stranded passengers get home.

Mr Bezuidenhout said the airline wanted to return the "essential airbridge" between Guernsey and Jersey.

He added the route to Southampton was also an important service for passengers.

"Aurigny has moved immediately to introduce new services from Guernsey to Southampton and Jersey to meet the real needs of the market and prevent any further disruption," Mr Bezuidenhout said.

On Saturday, Mr Bezuidenhout said Aurigny wanted to provide an inter-island service long-term.

"I think that the route between Guernsey and Jersey for the longest time was an absolute cornerstone route for Aurigny as a route," he said.

"I don't think that there's actually a carrier that exists that has served that route for longer than Aurigny has, so we will return to that route and to provide that connectivity for islanders."