AN “encouraging” boost in inter-island air passenger traffic has been welcomed by Jersey’s Chamber of Commerce.
Chamber’s visitor economy chairman Tim Crowley congratulated Aurigny, after the Sarnian airline celebrated a 9% growth in travellers between Jersey and Guernsey.
The number of passengers carried on the route between January and August was marked as 46,362 in comparison to 42,543 in the same period last year.
Aurigny became the custodian of lifeline inter-island air travel between Jersey and Guernsey not long after the collapse of Blue Islands towards the end of 2025.
Guernsey’s Economic Development Committee decided to designate the route “essential”, making it subject to a licensing process in which Aurigny was successful.
A license to operate the route was also sought by Loganair, but the Scottish carrier later withdrew from the process after it emerged that Guernsey’s Transport Licensing Authority had provisionally rejected the application amid concerns competition could create viability problems.
Aurigny has cited a “significant reduction in air transport fares between the Bailiwick’s when compared with recent years” among the factors driving progress on the route, having averaged fares of less than £70 one-way year-to-date.
It noted that “reliability has also been strong”, with almost 1,000 flights operated over the period and more than 99% of those completed as planned according to published schedules.
The percentage of flights arriving within 15 minutes of schedule was 86% for the period, excluding weather.
The operator has said that it is “engaging positively with the islands’ tourism boards to support 2027 and ensure both Bailiwicks benefit from renewed leisure travel interest next year”.
Tim Crowley, chair of the Jersey Chamber of Commerce’s visitor economy committee, said: “We are encouraged by the growth in inter-island air travel, which reflects the wider increase in overnight leisure visitors to Jersey this year.”
He continued: “We congratulate Aurigny on its reliability and service levels, which play an important part in the overall visitor offering as we work collectively to deliver excellent experiences.
“Inter-island capacity remains a significant challenge for the visitor economies of both islands, and the committee will continue to focus on improving sea connectivity.”
Aurigny originally launched services on the Guernsey-Jersey route in 1968, operating the famous Britten-Norman Islander aircraft.
