A delegation from Brittany’s business community visited the Island this week to explore trade opportunities between the Island and the region.
Isabelle Pean-Metaireau, the sales cargo manager at Rennes Airport, said that they had previously tried to establish a route without success.
‘Rennes Airport is certainly an opportunity for Jersey to develop its business, but also for tourism and as a place to export goods to Jersey,’ she said.
‘We do not know why there is not already a link in place. We already made an offer for Jersey, a business case, around four years ago but maybe it was not the right time.
‘We have 28 destinations with ten airlines and we grow 18% per year for two years right now. We also have ninth-ranked cargo airport in France – we have many operators such as UPS, TNT, and we also have dedicated charter for live animals, food, automotive spare parts.’
Last month, in preparation for a possible no-deal Brexit, Jersey Post announced that it had held a successful trial to see if it could export its Europe-bound mail directly into the continental mail system by shipping it to St Malo. It also announced that it was exploring whether a direct air-mail link with Rennes Airport could be established.
Ms Pean-Metaireau added that a mixed passenger and cargo service could initially be launched and later expanded if it proved popular.
‘I think that would be the best solution for Jersey people to come to Brittany,’ she said.
‘It takes you 15 minutes by bus to get from the airport to the TGV station and then it is an hour and a half to Paris Montparnasse.
‘All the traffic out of Jersey is orientated around London and I do not know why.’
Meanwhile, a spokesman for Ports of Jersey said that they were not able to meet the delegates due to the short notice of their arrival, but would be holding follow-up discussions with them to discuss potential opportunities.
‘In line with our open-skies policy, the route development team at Jersey Airport welcomes discussion with any airline, tour operator or government in relation to air routes that develop new, or improve our existing, connections,’ the spokesman said.
‘In relation to developing a Jersey-Rennes air service we will be following up with the delegation that recently visited.’
