Aurigny is delighted to announce that it has secured the lease of an ATR 42-500 aircraft to serve its increasingly popular Guernsey to London City route. The aircraft is planned to begin passenger flights in late April. It will arrive into Guernsey today at around 6pm BST ahead of some final preparation work.

Mark Darby, the CEO of Aurigny said: “The long term lease of this ATR 42-500 shows our commitment to linking people in Guernsey with the City of London. By starting up this route and now securing an Aurigny plane to fly it means we serve three of the main London airports. That commitment is backed up by the fact passenger volumes have grown nearly 5% between Guernsey and London since January this year. It shows we’re giving our customers what they want.”

He added: “The Aurigny London City route has been operated for us by our friends at VLM using their own plane and crew. Aurigny would like to thank VLM for providing such an excellent start up service on this important gateway route to the capital.

Aurigny’s Commercial Director, Malcolm Coupar said: “Our London City route is becoming increasingly popular with business travellers who appreciate a direct flight to the finance capital of Europe. March was our best month yet for passenger numbers from Guernsey to London City. The airport is well connected by public transport and passengers taking the Docklands Light Railway can be at Bank station half an hour after leaving the terminal. From there, you can reach the main Tube network so London City has appeal to those wanting to visit the capital for culture, or shopping. London City can also connect our passengers with major European airports and even the USA.”

The ATR 42-500 is being leased for a period of five years, meaning it carries the Aurigny livery, is flown by our pilots and staffed by our cabin crew. London City is different to the other airports we serve because it requires a slightly steeper approach. Our pilots and first officers have been trained for this in a flight simulator and the CAA has authorised us to operate into the airport.