Funding threat to airport taxiways

The airport says it needs close to £100m to remain operational

Jersey Airport could be forced to close parts of its taxiway to planes unless public money is released for maintenance work.

The airport says it needs close to £100m to remain operational.

But there is confusion over who will pay for the maintenance work to be carried out.

Last November, the States agreed the airport should be funded from the public coffers, rather than from those people who use the airport and its services.

But in the recently released States resource plan - which outlines spending priorities to 2008 - the airport was not included.

Repairing taxiway

Airport managers say they need £140m over the next 20 years.

The Harbours and Airport Committee says the Finance Committee is ignoring the States' decision and wants money to be advanced so work can start.

To bolster its proposition, the Harbours Committee says unless work starts on repairing parts of the taxiway by 2005, these areas will have to be closed to certain aircraft.

The committee says this could ultimately affect 80% of all commercial aircraft using the airport.