Shortage of experienced pilots likely to impact Aurigny, report finds

Aurigny boss and a pic of a plane
Aurigny CEO, Nico Bezuidenhout, said: "We're making sure that we have got the aircraft available to service our schedule, that the schedule is reasonable and achievable and that we've got pilots to fly those aircraft". Credit: ITV Channel

Experts say Aurigny is likely to face challenges in the future - as an ongoing shortage of experienced pilots impacts the airline.

The comments are part of a new inquiry which was commissioned by Guernsey's States and undertaken by two experts from British Airways - former Chief Pilot Douglas Brown and ex-finance director of a BA subsidiary Mark Elliott.

The pair concluded that much of the disruption was beyond the airline’s control, but did raise some red flags.

"Virtually every UK carrier is suffering crew shortfalls" and Aurigny will need to take "extraordinary measures to secure and retain qualified flight crew".

They referenced the cost of housing as a problem which impacts staff recruitment and retention.

A common theme is the difficulty Aurigny has in operating around the opening times of the airline, and the report says a review into opening times is needed.

After punctuality of its aircrafts fell from 75.1% in 2023 to 64.9% in 2024, the inquiry also said the year's summer schedule had "potentially pushed the capacity of the fleet to its limit".

It was confident, however, of a recovery in 2025: "The schedule that has been put forward would appear to have more resilience for winter 24-25 and especially for the summer season of 2025".

Furthermore, the review agreed with the decision to sell the Embraer jet in November last year, saying: "if it had been kept in the fleet the situation might have been even worse than what was experienced.

The investigation revealed "certain situations and practices that we found unusual" and "the resilience of air services on the island could be enhanced and with smoother and more reliable operations".

CEO of the States-owned airline, Nico Bezuidenhout, said: "We're making sure that we have got the aircraft available to service our schedule, that the schedule is reasonable and achievable and that we've got pilots to fly those aircraft.

"These are the three main areas where we are exerting effort".

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