The queues lasted for up to seven hours and the pressure became so intense at some points that handling staff broke down in tears.
Jersey Airport has blamed cost cutting by Flybe for the delays, while the airline blamed the Airport for reducing the size of the waiting areas inside the terminal building to accommodate more shops.
The £4 million redevelopment of the departures hall was officially opened for business on Friday and it doubled the amount of retail space inside.
Jersey Airport spokesman Alan Donald said that the long queues on Saturday resulted from a commercial decision by Flybe to cut the number of check-in desks they use from six to four to save money.
But Flybe’s general manager for market development, Ian Taylor, angrily rebutted the claim. He said that if it had been a planned reduction, then the same thing would have happened every weekend.
