Guernsey Airport 'fit for new operators', says director

Mr Le Ray said running the airport during the work had been a challenge

Guernsey Airport will be able to serve existing and new airlines better once airfield improvement work is complete, according to its director.

Colin Le Ray said when work ended in May 2014, the airport would be "fit for the next 30 years."

He said the airport would offer a purpose-built facility. Work to renew surfaces, drainage and safety areas began early last year.

The Public Services Department said the scheme would be completed on time.

A spokesman for the department said heavy rain had put the project six weeks behind schedule, but this would not affect the overall timescale.

He said there would be no further closures to the airport runway, following the four scheduled two-day closures that had already taken place.

Media interest

Gerry Prickett, the client project manager for the works, said media scrutiny had ensured the smooth running of the scheme.

He said: "I think it's quite healthy actually, it keeps us on our toes knowing that there is such media interest."

He added: "A lot of projects that I've worked on, there's media interest initially... but along the way, generally speaking, the media interest dissipates."

Construction work at the airport began early last year

Mr Prickett said the 120-140 men from contractor Lagan had integrated well in to Guernsey life.

He said: "It's extremely encouraging that we haven't had any problems at all... the workforce has been at a quite considerable level now since May."

Mr Le Ray said it had been challenging to keep the airport running during the work.

He said: "It is a major piece of work, there will be some disruption because of the high amount of activity going on at night, but we try to do what we can to minimise that."

Both men said the rain had proved problematic and had been unexpected.

Mr Le Ray said: "Ironically we started the project in one of the driest winters on record, and we were kind of all patting ourselves on the back a bit."

He said this had been followed by "one of the wettest Aprils on record".