Loganair bid for Guernsey lifeline routes denied

Loganair 's bid to operate routes to Southampton and Jersey from Guernsey has been provisionally denied by Guernsey's Transport Licensing Authority (TLA).

Licences are needed to operate on routes designated as lifeline by the States of Guernsey. The airline had bid for operational licenses for two routes following the collapse of Blue Islands.

In a statement – Loganair said it would now focus on "delivering an exemplary, reliable service for islanders, starting in Jersey".

TLA President John Gollop said "both applications had been carefully considered in line with the requirements of the Air Transport Licensing Law".

He said: "In reaching this decision, the authority considered a wide array of submitted information and representations received as part of a public consultation process."

Deputy Gollop said: "As required by law, the authority gave Loganair a period of 14 days in which to respond to its proposed decision. However, Loganair has subsequently withdrawn its applications.

"The Air Transport Licensing Law and the Air Policy Statement set out the factors to be considered by the Authority when making a decision to either grant or to reject a licence application.

"On this occasion, evidence suggested strong competition on these routes would likely lead to it being unviable for all operators in the longer term."

Luke Farajallah, chief executive of Loganair, previously said it was important to have multiple operators on the route.

He said: "We'll show in Jersey what our customer first approach looks like - reliable schedules, clear communication, and care when plans change."

"If we do our job well, we hope Guernsey will soon enjoy the same standard of service."

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