Airline's £5m aircraft deal

Aircraft handover: ATR's Bernard Fondo with Aurigny's Malcolm Hart

Channel Island airline Aurigny has taken delivery of two new aeroplanes.

The States of Guernsey-owned airline has leased the additional two aircraft at a cost of more than £5m.

The 66-seater ATR 42 aircraft are on loan for five years from the French manufacturer ATR and are fitted with Aurigny's new livery.

One will operate on the Gatwick route and provide additional capacity at week-ends on the Manchester route. The other will be kept as a back up.

Aircraft approval

The sales director of ATR, Bernard Fondo, officially handed over the aircraft to Aurigny Managing Director Malcolm Hart on Monday afternoon.

Mr Hart said the provision of a spare aircraft is essential in terms of delivering service and reliability on their routes.

He said: "It has required a huge amount of work, and the fact that we have managed this within just two months of the launch is a real tribute to Aurigny's staff.

"To go through all the procedures and processes involved in obtaining Civil Aviation Authority approval to operate a new aircraft type in such a short space of time is a tremendous achievement."