UP to £2 million will be spent over the next two years to support the development of new air routes, the Economic Development Minister has revealed.
Budget carrier easyJet meanwhile said that it remained “committed” to expanding its services from the Island.
Deputy Kirsten Morel said the government had been “working closely” with Ports of Jersey and that the organisation shared his ambition to “boost the Island’s connectivity”. Ports chief executive Matt Thomas said they were in conversation with a “significant” number of airlines about potential new routes.
In 2023, Deputy Morel said he believed that links to Paris, Berlin, Madrid, Lisbon and other major cities could be commercially viable, after easyJet launched a new service from Jersey to Amsterdam.
However, the Dutch route was later abandoned, with Ports stating at the time that – despite being “well-used” by Islanders – it did not attract enough passengers from Amsterdam to be continued.
And Blue Islands did not bring back its Rennes service last year, despite operating it in 2022 and 2023.
Blue Islands also suspended its Jersey to Birmingham service last year after claiming competition with easyJet “undermined” its ability to operate the route profitably. However, the Channel Islands carrier has recently announced a new route from Jersey to Newcastle, which is due to start in May.
An easyJet spokesperson said that the airline was “always looking at new opportunities to expand our network, choice of destinations and enhance our service for customers”.
“While we don’t currently have plans to operate more routes from Jersey, we remain committed to expanding our network from the Island and last year introduced twice-weekly flights to Birmingham,” they added.
Deputy Morel said: “We have been working closely with Ports of Jersey and Visit Jersey as they work to identify new air links for the Island.
“Any new routes will ultimately be a decision for airlines in collaboration with Ports of Jersey, but I know PoJ share my ambition to boost the Island’s connectivity, provide greater choice for Islanders and support our visitor economy.
“We will be mobilising up to £2m over the next two years via the Better Business Support Package for route development.”
Ports of Jersey’s chief executive Matt Thomas said the organisation had “ongoing conversations with a significant number of different airlines” including talking to easyJet about “a variety of European routes”.
He described the development of new routes as “absolutely” achievable, adding that Ports was “committed” to making progress in this regard.
“All stakeholders need to work really strongly together,” he said.
