Airports - March April 2015

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was superseded by the current one at La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 April
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
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