JERSEY’S air-passenger numbers are recovering better post-pandemic than airports in the UK, the chief executive of Ports of Jersey has said, as he welcomed a new five-year agreement confirming services to Heathrow.
Matt Thomas said that the new deal between Ports and British Airways had been a ‘long time coming’.
The new BA agreement, announced yesterday, is projected to see more than two million passengers travel to and from Heathrow over the next five years.
Research produced by Oxford Economics found that the Island’s connectivity with Heathrow could generate £123 million per year for Jersey’s economy by 2025.
Since Jersey reopened its borders for commercial flights in July 2020, BA has operated to the Island from Heathrow, rather than Gatwick.
Mr Thomas said: ‘We are currently operating around four or five flights a day to and from Heathrow but we are hoping in the height of summer, as we continually transition out of the pandemic, this will be up to as much as six flights a day,’ he said.
‘While the pandemic has had an enormous impact on Jersey connectivity, the good news is that the recovery in our passenger numbers is tracking well ahead of airports across the UK and we are confident that today’s announcement will bring a further boost,’ he added.
A total of 116,182 passengers passed through the Airport in the first two months of this year, compared to 195,261 during the same period in 2020 – equating to about 60% of pre-pandemic levels.
Mr Thomas said that Ports of Jersey will regularly assess the performance of the Heathrow route and hoped that extra flights would be added if demand increased.
He added: ‘This route supports the four pillars of business, tourism, visiting friends and family and supporting Islanders. This news is huge for Jersey and provides that connectivity to a major airport – which is a position we really want to be in.’
Economic Development Minister Lyndon Farnham said the Island had a ‘long-standing relationship’ with BA which had only strengthened as a result of this agreement.
He added that links to Heathrow were vital for many aspects of Jersey’s economy.
‘Air connectivity is critical to Jersey’s economic wellbeing and way of life, whether to support tourism, travel on holiday, business, visit friends and relatives in the UK or further afield, to access specialist medical care or university education,’ he said.
Senator Farnham added that the agreement was a ‘welcome post-pandemic boost’.
‘Jersey’s links to Heathrow will provide significant benefit for Islanders. It will provide a strong connection for business workers, whether they are travelling into London or further afield, as well as business workers visiting the Island. Heathrow also has a number of international connections for Islanders wanting to travel abroad on holiday,’ he said.
Colm Lacy, chief commercial officer at British Airways, said the agreement with Ports of Jersey was an ‘investment into the future’.
