Select a region
A review has been instigated after Guernsey's Air Traffic Control told a flight which would have missed the airport opening hours by just 90 seconds to go back to the UK.
The Aurigny plane was approaching to land on Sunday 18 August – and was just 800ft above the ground when it was told to turn back to Exeter.
It left passengers, who had already had to wait hours for their delayed flight, frustrated and led to cancellations to Aurigny’s schedule the next day.
Guernsey Airport, the States Trading Supervisory Board and the airline have apologised for what happened and a review of the late night opening policy has been instigated.
In a statement issued on Monday, an Aurigny spokesperson said: “Technical issues with two of our ATRs caused delays throughout yesterday, which resulted in our flight from Exeter being delayed.
“The flight departed Exeter following an agreement with Air Traffic Control (ATC) to extend Guernsey Airport opening hours, however, shortly before landing and with the aircraft being at 800 ft and 1.5 nautical miles from the runway, ATC instructed our pilot to divert back to Exeter as the extended airport hours would have been missed by approximately 90 seconds."
The statement continued: “We apologise to the customers affected by this diversion last night, and by the knock-on effect thereof on today’s schedule.
“We will be working with Guernsey Ports in the coming days to seek a more effective resolution to schedule recovery under conditions of flight disruptions, conscious of the need to balance our desire to complete our schedule and safely bring passengers to their destinations, and practical constraints that may exist both at the airport and within the airline.”
Guernsey Ports managing director Colin Le Ray said: “First and foremost I would like to apologise to anyone who was affected by last night’s disruption to the Exeter flight, whether they were passengers on board the aircraft or relatives waiting to welcome them.
“In more than 20 years at Guernsey Airport, this is the only time I recall there being an event of this nature.”
He pledged to work with Aurigny to fully understand what happened, and better understand how it might be avoided in future.
Mr Le Ray continued: “Our number one priority, both for airport operators and airlines, is the safety of passengers. The aviation industry is therefore highly regulated, and there are a lot of rules which have to be adhered to that are not open to negotiation or individual discretion.
“For example, as with pilots and other air crew, our air traffic control officers have strict limits on the hours they can work, and the hours of rest between shifts. As well as these regulated work times, we also have staff undertaking safety-critical functions, including firefighting and aviation security, which require suitable periods of rest.
“So while we can extend the airport’s opening hours to accommodate flights that have been delayed earlier in the day, there still needs to be a strict cut off time, so that we can evidence (if required) that these considerations of adequate rest are adequately reflected in our policies. If we go beyond that, it could have a knock on effect on operations the following day, which is likely to affect a number of inbound and outbound flights.”
The outbound Exeter flight, which was scheduled to depart at 19:05, did not leave Guernsey until 22:08.
Mr Le Ray explained: “Aurigny were made aware earlier in the afternoon that the airport’s strict cut off time for landing back in Guernsey was 23:35.
“Unfortunately, although they attempted the return journey, the aircraft did not get airborne again until 23:09. They were subsequently unable to land by the cut-off time and therefore had to turn back to Exeter.
“The decision to attempt the return flight will have been aimed at minimising the disruption to passengers already affected, and to avoid potential knock-on disruption to today’s services due to the aircraft being out of position this morning.
“As I say, this is an extremely rare occurrence, but one that we need to avoid happening again.
“We will review the extension policy and how it can best be applied in future, so that we are able to meet our operational and regulatory requirements, so we balance that against preventing any unnecessary disruption to passengers.”
President of the States’ Trading Supervisory Board Peter Roffey apologised "unreservedly" to passengers on board the flight.
He said the STSB did not yet know the full circumstances around why the flight had been unable to land in Guernsey, but it was clearly regrettable.
“Clearly this is a result of operational decisions, but from an STSB perspective it is incredibly disappointing given that we are responsible for both Aurigny and Guernsey Ports. We are seeking to fully understand from them what happened, but it is clearly very regrettable.
“Most of all, I would want to apologise unreservedly to anyone who was on the flight. This must have been incredibly frustrating and I can understand any annoyance that they may feel.”
Disruptions to Aurigny’s schedule are expected to continue after problems last week.
Its recovery plan includes pilots changing their schedules to offer additional support, and the Dornier is being used for certain flights to mitigate cancellations where possible.
Aurigny added: “We want to assure our customers that we are actively monitoring the situation and exploring additional options to enhance our capacity and minimise disruptions, and further reiterate that safety remains our utmost priority.
"We thank our customers for their patience and understanding as we work to restore our full schedule and continue to prioritise your travel experience."
Comments
Comments on this story express the views of the commentator only, not Bailiwick Publishing. We are unable to guarantee the accuracy of any of those comments.