The twice-daily Heathrow service is due to start on 26 March

The States is paying a subsidy as bmi does not expect to make the route pay for the first two years.

Senator Ben Shenton is to ask Economic Development Minister Philip Ozouf to reveal the payment.

He is also asking if Mr Ozouf's role as financier, regulator and licensor of airline licences is appropriate.

Rival airline Flybe has complained to the Jersey competition watchdog and the UK Office of Fair Trading that the subsidy to bmi could distort the airline market.

But Deputy Alan Maclean, who has responsibility for the airport, said commercial sensitivities meant the amount will stay confidential.

The airline's Heathrow service is due to begin on 26 March.

The island has been without a link to the Heathrow hub since British Airways (BA) pulled out in October 2000.

In January, bmi received an undisclosed sum to set up a twice-daily service from Jersey to London Heathrow.