Call for harbour and airport to be separated

Boat-owners and marine businesses have called for Guernsey's harbour and airport to be run separately.

The Guernsey Boatowners' Association (GBA), Marine Traders' Association (MTA) and Royal Channel Islands Yacht Club (RCIYC) said the island's harbours were "directly subsidising" the airport.

MTA president David Norman said the current setup was "fundamentally wrong" as the harbours needed to "be able to run their own affairs, do their own maintenance and get on with it".

Peter Roffey, President of the States Trading Supervisory Board (STSB), said running them as separate businesses "would not make any sense" because of possible inefficient duplication of work.

Mr Norman said the harbourmaster and the airport's management team were "not in charge of their own destiny".

The island's harbours and airport are currently run by Guernsey Ports, part of the civil service.

However, it could become an arms-length company overseen by the STSB if deputies approve proposals later this week.

Nick Guillemette, GBA president, said the harbours had made more than £28m in the last 28 years, while the airport had lost £46m during the same time.

Mr Guillemette said the harbour's profits should have been earmarked for its own repairs and upgrades instead.

Roffey said: "To run them as two separate businesses would not make any sense because there are synergies and cost-savings by running them as one."

To spilt them would "not be an efficient use of time and expertise", he said.

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