Visiting Club Responds Following Cancelled Flight

The director of a visiting football squad has apologised for his teams' 'loud and boisterous' behaviour on their flight home.

Bill Pollard says the Raynes Park Vale players had spent the day in the pub after their match against GFC was postponed because of a waterlogged pitch.

The final flight from Gatwick to Guernsey had to be cancelled after the aircraft arrived in London needing to be cleaned.

Mr Pollard mainly blames a bumpy flight:

"My understanding is that there was some turbulence and one or two of our travelling party didn’t feel well on the flight.

I believe that was dealt with effectively without contaminating the aircraft and I do know that other people who were not related to our travelling party also felt ill during the flight."

Raynes Park Vale's game with Guernsey FC was abandoned just an hour before kick-off.  The referee judged that the surface at Footes Lane was unplayable.

Mr Pollard says the group of 25 had been up early, preparing themselves for a football match that didn't happen:

"They did what any group of people would do in the circumstances which is go to the pub and watch football because they had several hours to kill until the return flight.

I don't think that there’s any debating that they were a bit loud and boisterous both in the airport prior to the flight as well as on the flight, but I have received confirmation from the airline that they followed all of the cabin crew commands as they should have."

A statement from Aurigny explained the cancellation of the inbound flight on Saturday night (9 December) as being as a result of 'several passengers falling ill during turbulence on the final approach into Gatwick airport'.

"Unfortunately, cleaning contractors at Gatwick were unable to clean the aircraft, so it had to return empty to Guernsey. We ensured passengers were transferred to the next available flight.

“We understand that these disruptions may have caused frustration and inconvenience to our passengers, and we appreciate their patience and understanding.”

Islander Kelly Jones has been due home on the cancelled flight with her children.  

"The Aurigny staff said that it was a sports team that were visiting the island and that multiple of them had been ill, and I think everyone put two and two together that it was alcohol consumption rather than actually someone who had been taken ill."

"There was no consideration for anybody, but themselves. I think that personally they should be barred from coming to Guernsey because we don’t need that behaviour in our lovely island."

GFC will have to bear the financial cost of the postponed fixture.

Mr Pollard is hoping the arranged match can be played on a Saturday, or at a neutral venue 'perhaps near Gatwick to make it easy for GFC to travel to'.  

"Both sides lost.  There are no hard feelings on our side."

It will be for the league to decide.