Flybe to bring passenger jets back to Guernsey

by GD Tue 05 Feb 2013, 5:34 pm

Passenger jets are to return to Guernsey by the end of March, airline Flybe has announced.

The company said it would begin operating its Embraer 175 aircraft on four of its five daily Guernsey-Gatwick return flights.

Jets were withdrawn from the island after Flybe replaced its fleet of BAE 146 planes with heavier Embraer 195s.

Simon Lilley, Director of Marketing for Flybe, said the planes would bring punctuality benefits for passengers.

He said: "Guernsey-Gatwick is a key route for us... and it is where we would put out best aircraft."

The airline, along with the other commercial airlines serving Guernsey, has relied on turboprop aircraft since its jets were withdrawn.

Mr Lilley said the decision to bring passenger jets back was as a result of the upgrade to the island's runway, undertaken as part of an £81m project to improve the airfield.

Flybe will begin using the Embraer 175 planes to serve Guernsey on 31 March.