CONTACT - Guernsey Chamber of Commerce

pUBlici | Airport Director Colin Le Ray
colin le ray
PUBLICi
By Jon Taylor
2011 is gearing up to be a busy
year for you, with the airport
2040 project. What makes
these works important?
Guernsey airport is an essential
part of the island’s infrastructure.
it is the gateway to and from the
island for nearly a million travellers
a year, and provides vital air links
to support the local economy,
tourism, the business community
and islanders’ leisure. obviously
we have to maintain the current
operational capability of the airfield
if we want to retain these links.
46 | CONTACT | OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2010 | www.guernseychamber.com
Guernsey’s airport is one of the island’s
most important assets but what is it
like to be in charge of something so
valuable. Jon Taylor spoke to airport
director Colin Le Ray.
You say the project is about retaining
the current capability of the Airport.
Is it not intended to expand it?
No. the purpose of the project is
simply to protect the operations that
the airport is currently designed
to accommodate. the option of
extending the runway, which would
allow us to handle larger aircraft
than at present, was investigated,
but the view of the public Services
Department was the benefits were
not sufficiently clear cut to justify
the additional cost (£20 million+)
and disruption. that was also the
conclusion of an independent study
last year by York aviation, and the
States has therefore only approved
upgrading and improving the existing
facilities, not extending the runway.
Surely if the Airport 2040 project
is such a major undertaking, now
is the logical time to extend the
runway. Would that not be better
in the long- term for the island?
Given the complexity and cost of
an extension, you would need to be
able to demonstrate that the island’s
future was dependent on having
a longer runway. the York report
found that no such case could be