The Channel Islands are an interesting archipelago as far as commercial air travel is concerned. Located just off the Normandy coast, to the northwest of France, these British Crown Dependencies are, like the Isle of Man, not technically part of the UK. However, flights from the country to its Crown Dependencies are treated as domestic services. But which airports serve this archipelago in the English Channel?
Jersey
The busiest airport in the Channel Islands is situated in the parish of Saint Peter on the island of Jersey. Jersey Airport (JER) consistently averaged more than one million passengers a year before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
For example, in 2019, it registered more than 1.7 million passengers, its highest figure for nearly 25 years. Still, 2020 saw this figure drop to a mere 420,195. Nonetheless, the airport bounced back strongly in 2022, with more than 1.3 million passengers passing through its doors, representing a 97% year-on-year increase.
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Jersey is a popular destination among sun-seeking British travelers, so much of its traffic to and from the UK and Ireland is seasonal. That being said, several airlines also operate seasonal routes from Jersey to international destinations. These include Blue Islands (Ibiza and Rennes), British Airways (Mallorca), easyJet (Amsterdam), Eurowings (Düsseldorf), Finist'air (Brest), and Lufthansa (Munich).
In terms of year-round routes to domestic destinations, Jersey has consistent connections to Birmingham, Bristol, East Midlands, Exeter, Guernsey, and Southampton, thanks to Blue Islands. Meanwhile, British Airways flies all year round to London Heathrow, with easyJet serving Belfast International, Glasgow, Liverpool, London Gatwick, London Luton, and Manchester. According to data from the CAA, Heathrow was the busiest route in 2022, with over 316,000 passengers.
Guernsey
London Gatwick was Jersey's second-busiest route last year, but ranked first when it came to Guernsey's busiest markets. Located in a parish known as The Forest, Guernsey Airport (GCI) is the second-busiest in the Channel Islands, having served more than 650,000 passengers last year. Almost half of these were using Aurigny's flights to Gatwick, with this route handling over 281,000 passengers in 2022.
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As well as serving a host of destinations on the UK mainland, Aurigny also flies from Guernsey to the neighboring Channel Island of Alderney on a year-round basis. According to ITV, its route to Dublin Airport resumed in May 2022, following a hiatus that came about due to licensing issues following Brexit. These flights all operate within the British and Irish Common Travel Area.
On a seasonal basis, Aurigny also flies internationally from Guernsey to Alpes–Isère Airport in Grenoble, France, as well as the Spanish destinations of Ibiza and Málaga. In terms of other airlines, Blue Islands flies from Guernsey to Jersey and Southampton on a year-round basis. In April 2022, the carrier resumed its seasonal charter service to Groningen and Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
A month later, British Airways also began operating a seasonal charter to Palma de Mallorca. This returned this year and, according to FlyDirect Holidays, 2024 will see the introduction of a seasonal charter route to Faro, Portugal. While the airport is yet to exceed one million passengers per year, it has topped 900,000 on several occasions. Coronavirus reduced 2020's figure to just 184,503.
Alderney
Alderney (ACI) is the third and final commercial airport serving the Channel Islands. While the airport is smaller and quieter than Jersey and Guernsey, it has three runways. Aurigny is currently the only airline serving Alderney. Owing to its short runways (the longest of which measures just 877 meters), these services are the domain of the airline's smaller aircraft, namely the Dornier 228.
At present, Aurigny's Alderney-bound flights come from Guernsey and Southampton. The island has also previously seen services from elsewhere on the UK's South Coast and even in neighboring France. The car-free island of Sark, however, has no airport. It is under the approach path for Guernsey, but aircraft cannot pass over Sark at altitudes of lower than 2,400 feet above sea level.
How many of the Channel Islands' airports have you used? Do you have a particular favorite? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments!
Sources: CAA, Finist'air, FlyDirect Holidays, ITV, Sunair