The States of Alderney's decision means Aurigny will retain the sole licence for the route.

Aurigny's managing director said he believes there is not enough demand on the route for another operator.

Malcolm Hart said he felt the airline would have had to pull out of the route if the decision had been different and competition was introduced.

Blue Islands is partly owned by Derek Coates, the managing director of Healthspan, which is developing a hotel on the island.