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[edit] History
Air service to Jersey before 1937 consisted of biplane airliners and some seaplanes landing on the beach at Saint Aubin's Bay. Jersey Airways and Imperial Airways were among those who operated to the island before the Second World War, but conditions were difficult as timetables were governed by tides. It was also difficult to prevent members of the public from walking across the landing area, and any aircraft which had mechanical problems had to be dragged up the slipways until the tide receded.
The States of Jersey decided to build an airport which opened on 10 March 1937 with four grass runways, the longest of 2,940 ft (896 m) with a concrete centreline. Concrete taxiways were added during the World War II occupation by the Luftwaffe — they also built hangars, one of which is still in existence. A 4,200 ft (1,280 m) tarmac runway was opened in 1952 and the grass strips were closed. A feature of the airport in the 1950s was the traffic control system — traffic-lights were in place to prevent vehicles using the road from Les Quennevais to the Airport when planes were being moved to or from the hangar used by B.E.A.
The runway was lengthened several times over the years, reaching its current length in 1976. Additional taxiways were added several years later to improve access to the one end of the runway. However, due to its restricted length, in October 2007 Thomsonfly announced the removal of some services as it introduces the larger Boeing 737-800 to its fleet.[3]
There are approximately 75,000 aircraft movements and 1.6 million passengers annually at the airport based on 2008 statistics.[2]
[edit] Terminal
The 1937 terminal was designed with a control tower between the arrivals and departures areas. The terminal was extended in 1976. A new terminal adjoining the existing terminal was opened in 1997. A new Air Traffic control tower is due for completion during late 2009 and the departures hall is being developed to provide better services for passengers.
[edit] Airlines and destinations
Airlines  |
Destinations |
|---|---|
| Aer Arann | Cork [seasonal] |
| Aer Lingus | Dublin [seasonal] |
| Air Berlin | Düsseldorf [seasonal] |
| Air Southwest | Bristol, Oxford [seasonal], Plymouth, Guernsey |
| Aurigny Air Services | Guernsey, London-Stansted |
| Blue Islands | Alderney, Geneva, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Zürich |
| Bmibaby | Cardiff, East Midlands, Manchester |
| British Airways | London-Gatwick |
| EasyJet | Liverpool |
| Flybe | Aberdeen [seasonal], Belfast-City [seasonal], Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Doncaster/Sheffield [seasonal], Dundee [seasonal], Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow-International [seasonal], Inverness [seasonal], Kent-Manston [seasonal], London-Gatwick, London-Luton, London-Southend [seasonal], Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, Nice [seasonal], Norwich, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Southampton |
| Manx2 | Gloucester, Isle of Man |
| Jet2.com | Belfast-International [seasonal], Blackpool [begins 28 May; seasonal], Leeds/Bradford [seasonal] |
| Lufthansa Regional operated by Contact Air | Düsseldorf [seasonal] |
| VLM Airlines | London-City, Rotterdam [seasonal], |
Some airlines offer services between Jersey and other destinations with an intermediate stop at Guernsey. There are also periodic charter flights to Mediterranean and ski destinations operated by airlines such as Aurigny Air Services, Europe Airpost and Palmair. Cargo flights, including daily mail and paper services, which are handled by OceanAir Handling, are operated by Atlantic Airlines/MNG Kargo, Bluebird Cargo, Capital Trading Aviation and Jet2.com. Bluebird Cargo's services to Jersey stopped on 26 June 2009.
[edit] General Aviation
Apart from scheduled airline services, Jersey Airport accommodates a thriving general aviation population, including the Jersey Aero Club. It is also home to the Jersey International Air Display in September each year.
[edit] Aviation Beauport
[edit] References
- ^ Jersey - EGJJ
- ^ a b UK Airport Statistics: 2008 - annual
- ^ Airline cuts back island flights BBC News - 9 October, 2007
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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