Your island

There's a new fence going up at Jersey Airport in order to meet international security standards.

Planning permission has been for security fencing, which is almost three metres high with barbed wire on top. The measures are a necessity to ensure the airport is secure, but there are also wider issues to consider.

Airport operations director Sandy Sawyer says Jersey Airport is behind the rest of Europe in securing its airfield. She says that one direct result of the fence will be the creation of a new area for plane-spotters.

Sandy points out where the fence will go

Picnic

Sandy Sawyer said: “We are going to install a 2.8 metre high security fence around the whole airport. In doing so, we are going to move the walkers’ path back the other side of the security fence.

“The security fence will run towards the trees and hut. This will leave areas of ground for public amenity. We are well aware that an awful lot of people like to watch the air show from here.

“If we have some benches and tables dotted all the way along the boundary then we have an amenity that people could use when the air show is on, or when people are walking there dogs up here.”

However, Sandy Sawyer sounds a note of caution: “We don’t want to have too many picnic benches because that means we could attract birds. People eat food, which attracts the gulls.

“The one thing the airport is particularly worried about is the amount of birds around it. I don’t think it is going to be a problem, but I suspect it is something we will have to keep an eye on.”

Plane spotters

The new benches are set to make life easier for the island’s plan spotters. Nine-year-old Calum has been a plane enthusiast for a number of years. He explained how he got started.

Calum noting down plane details

Calum said: “For my 4th birthday I got a flight simulator. I have been downloading stuff since then. I got really into planes, starting with really small aircraft. Then I decided to move on and I got into jet airlines.

“When we went on one it was really good. I got to go in the cockpit and talk to the pilot to see what all the controls were and compare it to my flight simulator.

Calum notes down the aircraft name, the time that it is flying at, the call sign and whether it is taking off or landing.

He continued: “We come here when mum wants to do something else. If she wanted to go to a shop we just come down here.

One thing Calum does not like seeing at the airport is fliers of the feathered variety.

“The birds are a bit pesky. They can get caught up in the turbo fans and you really don’t want that,” he said.