Guernsey Airport stays open late 168 evenings so far this year

Monday, 9 September 2024 07:35

Late opening fees are paid by airlines and begin at 9pm at £782 per aircraft. They increase to £2,415 per aircraft after 11pm.

Guernsey Ports has confirmed that the airport has had to stay open late 168 times between 1 January 2024 and 31 August.

That is roughly once every day and a half.

Guernsey Ports charges for this, as it has to pay for air traffic controllers, fire crews and ground staff to enable any passenger aircraft to land with full facilities, or, occasionally, take off late.

The airport officially closes at 9pm but often flights land just after this.

Up until 9.14 pm they are charged £782 each.

That increases to £1030 for the next 15 minutes. Between 9.30pm and 10.29pm each aircraft being ground handled pays £1,662. That rises to £2,265 until 10.59pm. The highest charge kicks in from 11pm until 11.45pm, when an airline is charged £2,415 to land.

Aurigny, which experienced a significant number of delays due to fog and tech issues in August, will have paid thousands of pounds to the States owned airport to keep it open, to get its aircraft and passengers in to Guernsey.

As an example, Aurigny's website shows that Friday's (6 September) GR610 flight from Gatwick was due to leave London at 6.10pm. It eventually took off at 8.53pm and landed in Guernsey at 9.52pm. This will have cost the airline an extra £1,662.

Read: Nine Jersey passengers spend night at Guernsey Airport