Blue Islands has cancelled its London Southend and Liverpool services from Guernsey, claiming the routes were not financially sustainable.
The airline’s CEO, Rob Veron, apologised to passengers and cited the ‘destabilising’ effect of Guernsey’s ‘open skies’ policy in the decision to suspend these services.
‘2019 was a notable year in the history of air transport in Guernsey. The first full operational year of the Open Skies policy has quickly demonstrated the destabilising impact of that deregulation, its effect on the route mix and most importantly sustainability,’ said Mr Veron, who looked forward to working closely with the States of Guernsey in a forthcoming strategic review of air links.
‘Consumers enjoy the good choice of carriers that we have operating to and from Guernsey, but it is essential that key regional services, operating high-frequency year-round services, are done so in a viable and sustainable fashion. This needs to be front and centre of all policy considerations.’
The Committee for Economic Development expressed surprise at the decision, as the two routes attracted healthy passenger demand in their first seasons. However, with six new routes trialled in 2019 the committee also said it was inevitable that some would prove unsuccessful.
‘The introduction of the Quasi Open Skies Policy in September 2018 has allowed airline operators to introduce and test new scheduled routes to and from the UK swiftly and unencumbered by unnecessary bureaucracy during 2019,’ said the committee, which claims passenger movement through Guernsey airport increased by 6% in 2019.
‘The Committee for Economic Development is confident that in the long term operators will take positive advantage of the opportunities offered by the introduction of the Quasi Open Skies Policy in a commercially sustainable way, and that the policy will help deliver the committee’s objectives to improve the affordability, reliability and connectivity of air travel for local residents and visitors to Guernsey.’
Blue Islands has stressed that any passengers booked on these services will be contacted and offered either an alternative flight or a refund.
Mr Veron said: ‘We apologise to our customers for any inconvenience caused by this schedule change and want to reassure them that suitable arrangements will be made.’
The last day of operation of the London Southend route will be 27 January. The twice-weekly Liverpool service was due to recommence its summer schedule in May.
It has been a turbulent week for the locally owned, Channel Islands-based airline after the near collapse of its franchise partner Flybe, which struck a rescue deal with the UK government.
Pictured: Blue Islands CEO Rob Veron
