“I THINK we have made ourselves very much part of the fabric of Jersey and I really hope that continues,” said Loganair chief executive Luke Farajallah.
It has now been a year since the Scottish airline started its operations to and from the Island.
News that the carrier was stepping in to “ensure continuity of vital air connectivity” was announced by Ports of Jersey on 15 November 2025, a day after Blue Islands revealed it was suspending its operations with immediate effect.
The latter operator, which had been struggling financially and owed millions to the government – including the bulk of a loan provided during the Covid pandemic – later confirmed its decision to go into liquidation.
Loganair quickly began establishing its Jersey base and, before the month was over, had picked up more than 50 staff who had been employed by Blue Islands.
Mr Farajallah said: “It was really our pleasure to be able to offer so many people immediate employment back in an airline environment.”
He also acknowledged the contributions of those staff as part of “a fantastic team”, as he reflected on how the last 12 months had gone.
“Secondly, the product that we offer, which is long-term experience, year-round schedules to island communities, is genuinely appreciated.
“That’s not to say that we haven’t had the odd technical problem and the odd issue that all airlines are facing.
“But broadly speaking, when I sit back and look at the year’s performance and the feedback we’re getting – independently of anything that I might find – the independent feedback we get as a business, it is really warm.
“It’s really heartening, considering the standing start we had.
“I think people have started to really trust and rely on us to be their airline of choice from a regional connectivity perspective. So I’m really, really delighted with where we got to in such a short amount of time.”
In addition to its core services keeping Jersey connected year-round to regional destinations including Exeter, Bristol and Southampton, Loganair operated routes to Paris, Bordeaux, East Midlands and Norwich over the summer.
Loganair also flew a number of independent charters, which Mr Farajallah noted was an area he anticipated more growth in.
Commenting on which of the European routes might come back in 2027, he said: “I would imagine that Bordeaux will return. I think Paris may not.
“It was a route that Blue Islands did have some trouble with. It’s a route that we’re not seeing long-term sustainable demand, so it’s highly likely Paris won’t return next year. But having said that, I think the charter business will grow and we’ll start to see those sorts of destinations appearing more.”
While he said he was not yet in a position to announce new routes, Mr Farajallah revealed that: “We are in contact with a number of airports, some in the UK, some in Europe, who believe that Jersey is a great inbound destination for those passengers and also an outbound destination for those cities that they’re representing.”
Reflecting on the last year serving Islanders, Mr Farajallah added that the airline had flown over 520,000 miles in and out of Jersey.
There were 3,700 flights operated, 150,000 passengers carried, eight destinations served and 2,400 flight hours.
Loganair’s new services, including Bordeaux and Paris, were among the offerings of several airlines cited by Ports of Jersey as having contributed to the overall rise in air passengers so far this year in comparison to 2025.
At one stage during the summer, the Island benefited from – together with Finistair’s Brest route – up to six weekly flights to France.
Mr Farajallah also highlighted the efforts of Visit Jersey in promoting the Island, including the contributions of the organisation’s chief executive.
“You have got one of the best advocates locally in Tricia Warwick,” he said. “The energy that she has and the passion that she has for the inbound offer of Jersey is just incredible.”
The year has not been without its challenges, however.
In April, Mr Farajallah acknowledged the headwinds impacting the aviation sector, including the rise in fuel costs stemming from the conflict in the Middle East.
More recently, he told the JEP that Loganair remained “exposed” to ongoing global energy market volatility.
At the time, he cited the International Air Transport Association’s finding that jet fuel prices in Europe had more than doubled year-on-year.
Asked how safe the Jersey services were from potential cutbacks, Mr Farajallah said: “We’ve flown a full schedule this summer, we haven’t made any capacity cutbacks this summer. Next summer we are selling and planning to fly the full schedule.”
He continued: “We are going to cut back capacity by about 15% to 20% across our entire network this winter.”
Mr Farajallah explained that the airline was diverting two or three aircraft into long-term maintenance “so they’ll be available for us in the summer”.
“And we’re allowing some of our people who requested unpaid leave and options to do development, training, learning, academia. They can do that during the winter period while we’ve got a quieter schedule to operate.
He also stressed that Loganair is “a full-service, full-year-round airline”.
“We do not do what seasonal, low-cost carriers do,” he said. “We come in, we stay, we offer year-round services.
“Our core network, so those are the UK routes from Jersey, they will continue all-year-round without any cutbacks – and that’s a really important part of our offer.”
Mr Farajallah outlined ambitions for the carrier to continue being one of the UK’s most punctual airlines.
“When it comes to why people choose to fly with us, of course the schedule matters, the price matters, but they’ve got to have the confidence, which I think had been lost a little bit previously, that they will have a journey which is effectively safe and seamless, and they’ll arrive on time with their bag and have had a great interaction with our people.
“And we have got great people.”
One of the other challenges Loganair has faced came at the start of the year, when it emerged that Guernsey’s Transport Licensing Authority had provisionally rejected two applications from the airline– for services between Guernsey and Jersey, as well as Guernsey and Southampton.
The TLA concluded that “strong competition on these routes would likely lead to it being unviable for all operators in the longer term”.
An application to operate an inter-island passenger and cargo service put forward by Aurigny, which is wholly owned by the States of Guernsey, was approved.
At the time, Mr Farajallah said Loganair was happy to consolidate and build on its Jersey operations and that it hoped the Guernsey situation would eventually be resolved.
He told the JEP that this was “very much” still the case.
Despite the “tough” trading circumstances being faced by regional airlines around the world, Mr Farajallah said: “I’m certain that I’ll be sitting here in a year’s time with you and talking about an even more favourable and positive position of Loganair in Jersey.”
He also said that “conversations with the Government of Guernsey are very convivial”.
“We talk openly about airlines in general and about what the options are. But truthfully, right now our focus is Jersey, making sure that really hums seamlessly.”
