Rise in Alderney passengers despite Aurigny flight cuts

More passengers are travelling between Alderney and Southampton despite cuts to the number of scheduled flights.

The route, operated by Guernsey's national airline Aurigny, saw a 3% increase in passenger numbers in 2018-19.

The number of people using the Southampton service rose from 11,619 in 2017-18 to 11,968.

It compares to a 7% fall in the number of flights operated by the airline from 2,726 to 2,584 in the same period.

The connection is expected to see further flight reductions as one of Aurigny's three Dorniers will be taken out of service this year.

A further 7,000 seats are due to be cut from April to September 2020, according to the States of Alderney.

The figures form part of the first report to profile passengers arriving in Alderney via ferry or plane.

The direct Southampton service accounted for 46% of the 26,177 air passengers who arrived in the island between October 2018 and September 2019.

A total of 392 Alderney residents were recorded as requiring the flight path for medical treatment.

Christian Harris, States of Alderney Chairman of the committee for tourism and economic development, said the findings were "hard evidence" of the importance of the Southampton link.

The remaining 54% of travellers arriving in Alderney came from Guernsey, which saw a 17% reduction in the number of flights between July and September 2019, falling from 839 to 696 from the same 2018 period.

Aurigny was unavailable for comment.