FEATURE GUERNSEY Island Delight Kevan James travels to the Channel Island of Guernsey and discovers its wellequipped airport is eager to welcome more visitors from the UK and Europe. 60 airports of the world
FEATURE GUERNSEY Airport Statistics ICAO Code: IATA Code: Location: Elevation: Runway: EGJB GCI 49° 26.06’ N, 002° 36.07’ W 336ft (102m) 09/27 4,800 x 148ft (1,463 x 45m) Frequencies: ATIS: 109.4 Tower: 119.95 Ground: 121.8 Radar: 118.9, 124.5 Website: www.guernsey-airport.gov.gg An aerial view of the airport taken in September last year. (Brian Green/ Guernsey Airport) Mention the Channel Islands to most people and they tend to think of tax exiles, the ’80s TV detective Bergerac and, perhaps, German occupation during World War Two – but there’s so much more to discover. Jersey is the largest of the seven inhabited islands that are geographically closer to France than mainland Britain and consequently has a distinct French flavour. They are not part of the UK, neither are they in the European Union, but are Crown Dependencies and thus Jersey has its own government, as does the second largest island, Guernsey, which is also responsible for Alderney and the remaining smaller islands, Sark, Herm, Jethou and Brecqhou. While Jersey may sometimes get more attention, Guernsey like the others, has its charms – quaint houses, quiet roads, great beaches and its airport. Once famous for the dip towards the threshold of Runway 09 and its sloping parallel taxiway, Guernsey’s airport (GCI) has had a makeover; more than that, an almost complete rebuild, to match the modern terminal opened in 2004. History Guernsey’s airport has a long history, having originally opened with four grass runways on May 5, 1939. Being an island, it’s not surprising that aviation has always played a vital role here. The first passenger arrived in October 1919 and in 1923 a regular seaplane service began, using the bay off the island’s capital, St Peter Port. Cobham Air Routes arrived in 1935 using an earlier airfield at L’Eree for Croydon-Portsmouth- Christchurch-Guernsey flights by Airspeed Envoy IIs. Being flood-prone, the field was superseded by the current one at La Villaize four years later. The airfield was a prime target for the German occupation forces when World War Two broke out – and shortly after opening all civil flying ceased. But after the conflict no time was lost in re-starting services and in June 1945, His Majesty King George VI and his wife Queen Elizabeth arrived on an RAF Douglas DC-3 Dakota, to celebrate the island’s liberation. It was the first time a Queen of England had flown. On June 21, 1945, just six weeks after the end of the war-time occupation, Guernsey Airways and Jersey Airways (later merging to become Channel Island Airways) began regular scheduled services between Croydon, Southampton, Guernsey and Jersey. British European Airways (BEA) subsequently took over flights, absorbing Channel Island Airways in <strong>April</strong> 1947, but caused some considerable disquiet locally by using Junkers Ju 52 aircraft, the type used on flights to the islands by the Luftwaffe on a daily basis during the war. Quickly replacing the Ju 52 with de Havilland DH.89 Rapides, BEA went on to introduce 22 services a week to Southampton, 21 to Croydon, 95 a week between Guernsey and Jersey and another 12 to Alderney. Flights to Dinard, France, were also added and in 1954, BEA’s Croydon connection moved to London/Heathrow. However, four years later all BEA links to the UK capital moved again, this time to the newly opened Gatwick. This was despite considerable opposition from the islanders, who objected to losing direct links to what had rapidly become the world’s premier international airport. Meanwhile, in 1956, Jersey Airlines had taken over the Alderney, Southampton and Dinard routes, and in September that year the one millionth passenger passed through the airport since it opened in 1939. Airfield upgrade Towards the end of the 1950s, the grass runways and terminal were limiting the services that could be handled and the decision was taken by the Island’s government to build a hard surface runway, with enough length to cope with larger, heavier aircraft then entering service. The new runway opened the following decade after additional land to the west had been acquired, with several houses making way for the 4,800ft (1,463m) stretch of tarmac. One of the challenges facing the construction teams was a valley at the western end which had to be filled in. Even so, there was still a noticeable dip just past the threshold and the taxiway linking that end of the runway had an even bigger slope, resulting in aircraft disappearing from view completely when looking out from the terminal and apron. The other end of the runway also dropped away slightly, giving it an undulating profile that occasionally required careful touchdowns and a boost of extra power when going ‘up the hill’ in either direction, on the taxiway. This feature remained until the runway’s reconstruction in 2013, and today the taxiway retains the same slope. Traffic development Throughout the 1960s and into the 1970s, the DC-3s commonly used at GCI were replaced by Vickers Viscounts of BEA, British Midland, Northeast and Cambrian, Handley Page Dart Heralds of British Island Airways and the ungainly Aviation Traders Carvairs operated by British Air Ferries – enabling cars to accompany passengers. These, along with numerous smaller carriers, provided frequent services, particularly in summer, bringing holidaymakers from across the UK to the island. In 1969, BEA axed its Guernsey-Jersey flights and these were replaced by the newly formed Aurigny Air Services using Britten-Norman BN-2 Islanders, the small yellow twin-engine aircraft being joined in 1971 by its larger cousin, the Trislander, with its tail-fin mounted third engine. More than 40 years later, Aurigny is still providing vital services. After 38 years of shuttling around the Channel Islands, the Trislander is nearing retirement, with the most wellknown example, G-JOEY (c/n 1016), still in service, faithfully flying from Guernsey until the arrival of the replacement type, the Dornier 228. In 1971, BEA set up its Channel Islands Division, basing 12 Viscounts primarily www.airportsworld.com 61
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