Campaign group urges airline to drop Gatwick route

An aviation campaign group has called for Guernsey's airline, Aurigny, to scrap its Gatwick airport route and lease the landing slots to other operators.

The Guernsey Aviation Action Group said larger airlines could offer better pricing, operational resilience, and improved connectivity.

It follows Aurigny's projected £5m loss for 2026 due to declining passengers on its Gatwick service after British Airways launched a Heathrow route on 19 April.

A spokesperson for Aurigny said the airline was "by far the best equipped airline" to operate its "extensive route network to and from the United Kingdom".

The States of Guernsey purchased Aurigny in 2003 to secure vital air links, specifically protecting slots at London Gatwick after British Airways' decision to stop flying to the island.

Joe Mooney, from the aviation group, said Aurigny would not lose those slots if they were leased to other operators.

"Aurigny should be looking at what's best for Guernsey, not what's best for Aurigny," he said.

"Aurigny could manage someone else to actually operate them more efficiently. Aurigny could still be a regional airline, run to Bristol, to Exeter, to Southampton."

Mooney questioned the plausibility of blaming the new Heathrow route on any losses made by Aurigny in 2026.

"British Airways had just landed and after five days they were announcing £5m losses," he said.

"They still don't know what their losses are for 2025.

"In 2024, they lost £6.5m and British Airways wasn't there.

"As a matter of fact, if they're only going to lose £5m this year, British Airways has had a positive effect on them."

Aurigny said that since the airline was founded it has "worked tirelessly day-in-day out" to enhance connectivity to and from Guernsey.

"Today, thanks to Aurigny, Guernsey boasts by far the best connectivity to and from the United Kingdom per head of population compared to any other similar island community," it said.

"Aurigny is by far the best equipped airline to operate our extensive route network to and from the United Kingdom and intra-island services.

"We have the ideal fleet of aircraft, enabling fuel efficiency and right-sized to offer flexibility by offering frequencies across the day and at times ideal for the Guernsey market."

The airline said that it had "consistently stated" the new route to Heathrow would "inevitably result in a substantial revenue loss" even before it was launched.

"Aurigny is fully aware of its financial position in 2025 and will release its results in due course at the appropriate time," it said.

"Aurigny is not going to provide a running commentary on financial performance based on Mr Mooney's suppositions."

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