Airline to apply for inter-island route licence

Aurigny's chief commercial officer Philip Saunders said Aurigny is well-placed to serve the route

Guernsey airline Aurigny has confirmed it will apply for the licence to service the "vital" air route between the island and Jersey.

From the 15 January any operator intending to service the inter-island route will need a licence as confirmed by the States of Guernsey earlier this week.

Aurigny's first flight between Guernsey and Jersey took place on Saturday, less than 24 hours after the collapse of Blue Islands - the airline that previously flew the route.

Chief commercial officer at Aurigny Philip Saunders said: "I think that it's quite evident that we are totally committed to what I view as a vital air bridge between Guernsey and Jersey."

The initial schedule offers two daily services between Guernsey and Jersey every day, except on Fridays and Sundays, when Aurigny is operating a single service.

New schedules are being released in instalments in order to provide a "robust and reliable" service, the airline said.

Mr Saunders said: "I think we understand how delicate air transport is between islands and that obviously people have got things to do and we know that there is no other airline that understands these communities as we do."

Guernsey's Committee for Economic Development introduced the idea of a licence in an effort to increase resilience on the route following the collapse of Blue Islands.

Licensing would allow for minimum service levels to be set and managed by the States' Transport Licensing Authority.