Aurigny airline drops debit card booking charges for flights

Mr Hart claimed the move gave passengers a greater clarity on flight prices

Booking flights with a debit card will no longer incur a charge, the Guernsey-based airline Aurigny has announced.

The change, which comes into effect on Friday, coincides with a similar move by Flybe, which also operates to and from the island.

States-owned airline Aurigny, which was criticised for its charges in 2011, has also halved its credit card charges.

Malcolm Hart, managing director, said to mitigate the change fares would increase by about £2.

Currently the airline charges £2 per person per journey for debit cards and £4 for credit cards, meaning a return flight for two people would incur charges of £8 or £16.

Mr Hart said: "Aurigny cannot wholly absorb the cost of processing credit and debit card charges so will continue to make a small charge for credit cards and give our customers the opportunity to save money through using debit cards."