Plane and ferry disruption caused by high winds

A British Airways flight which landed in Guernsey was forced to return to London Heathrow Airport with all the passengers still on board as high winds caused travel chaos over the weekend.

Travel disruption continued on Saturday after Storm Austen hit the Channel Islands on Friday, with flights cancelled and a ferry held at sea for a number of hours.

Guernsey Ports said passengers could not be disembarked from the British Airways Airbus A319 safely becausewind speeds were "above the safety limits for all ground handling equipment".

It said the aircraft returned to Heathrow "with the 26 passengers on board" and all other flights on Saturday afternoon were cancelled.

The plane landed in Guernsey at 17:00 BST and departed for Heathrow two hours later.

Guernsey Ports said 128 passengers that were waiting to travel to Heathrow remained in Guernsey overnight and accommodation was provided by the airline.

It said Aurigny cancelled all remaining flights after 16:15 BST because of the ongoing adverse weather which left approximately 300 passengers unable to travel off the island.

Guernsey Ports Airport director Richard Thomasson said: "The severe weather that we have experienced over the past two days has been particularly challenging.

"The calmer conditions we had yesterday morning provided a window when operations could return to normal but unfortunately the onset of the higher winds during the afternoon brought further disruption for our airline partners.

"Our priority, first and foremost, is always the safety of both the travelling public and that of our own staff."

Brittany Ferries said the Islander, which was supposed to dock in Guernsey at 22:00 BST on Saturday was delayed by "adverse weather".

The vessel bringing passengers from St Malo was "unable to complete her first approach safely" because "winds in St Peter Port were gusting in excess of 40 knots (46mph)".

A spokesperson for the ferry operator said Islander "waited at sea until conditions allowed another attempt and docked at around 01:00".

The spokesperson said: "The safety of our passengers and crew always comes first and we are grateful to customers on board last night for their patience and understanding."

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