A HISTORIC Jersey Airlines plane is likely to leave the Island after an 11th-hour search for a new home failed to gather any local interest.
Matt Palmer purchased the De Havilland Heron – currently sitting on a section of open tarmac at the Airport – last year for just £1, after the company that previously owned it went into liquidation.
He has since been searching for a permanent home for the decommissioned aircraft, which cannot remain at the site for much longer as it requires a more suitable storage location with some form of cover.
Mr Palmer issued a rallying call in November to hear from any local organisations or individuals willing to help house the ‘Duchess of Brittany’, which used to fly between the Channel Islands, the UK and continental Europe.
He said: ‘I’ve had no local expressions of interest although I have had a couple of UK-based expressions of interest as a result of the publicity in the JEP. It would be very sad [if it couldn’t stay in Jersey] but that’s looking most likely at the moment.
‘I would be absolutely delighted if there was a local opportunity but that would basically just require us to have somewhere she could go.’
Mr Palmer added that the UK organisations interested in the Heron included aviation museums and a group of enthusiasts.
‘[Jersey] is built on our connectivity with the rest of the world and this is an iconic, last-of-her-type aircraft that has a lot to say about a really important part of the Island’s history – when we started having access to global markets, global connectivity, transport and the rest of it,’ he said.
Mr Palmer had hoped the Duchess, which first took to the skies in the 1950s, could remain in the Island as a static exhibit as a visitor attraction and for educational purposes. Both Jersey Heritage and Ports of Jersey have said they do not currently have an alternative storage site to offer the aircraft.
‘There is huge interest among students and young people as well as aviation enthusiasts,’ said Mr Palmer.
‘It’s a massive tourist pool – we have people coming over just to look at her. The market for aviation enthusiasts is actually quite significant and so for all of these reasons, I really will be gutted if we can’t find a way to keep her in Jersey.’
He said that he was still open to expressions of interest from local groups about acquiring the aircraft, but that this was the last winter it could be left exposed and uncovered.
‘There isn’t a hard and fast date, but by March I want to be moving it forward,’ he said.
