Aurigny

Is Aurigny safe?

Yes. Aurigny, the airline owned by the States of Guernsey, has no fatal accident and no written-off aircraft in the records of the Aviation Safety Network. It flies young ATR 72-600 turboprops under the UK Civil Aviation Authority. We score it 84. The catches are the weather it flies in and a handful of serious incidents that the UK's Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has looked into, including a total electrical failure in February 2026 that is still under investigation.

The tail strike at Guernsey

On 15 April 2025, flight GR607 from London Gatwick landed on Guernsey's runway 27 as the wind was picking up: about 20 knots around the time of landing, and 29 knots gusting 40 within the hour (Guernsey weather reports). The ATR 72-600, registered G-PEMB, struck its tail on the runway. It rolled out normally and nobody was hurt, but the damage was substantial: the aircraft was ferried to Toulouse in May for repair and only returned to service in August.

This is the only Aurigny accident in the last 20 years that we count, and it is the main reason the accident record scores 90 and not higher. A tail strikeTail strikeWhen the tail of an aircraft touches the runway during take-off or landing, usually because the nose was raised too far or too early.More in the glossary in gusty wind is a known hazard for turboprops on short-haul island routes, but it is still damage to an aircraft carrying passengers.

What the AAIB has investigated

Aurigny is small, about 13,800 flights a year in 2024, so a few investigations weigh more than they would at a big airline:

• Icing upset, December 2016. An ATR 72-500 climbing out of Guernsey for Manchester picked up ice. The crew did not fully action the checklists for the icing caution, flew an unsuitable speed and lost control briefly while levelling off. They recovered and returned to Guernsey. The AAIB put the upset down to the ice and the incomplete checklist use.
• Trislander at Alderney, November 2016. After a rejected take-off, a Trislander ran over a runway edge light. The pilot saw no damage and flew on to Guernsey, where a low pass past the tower found nothing wrong.
• Cabin smoke, 2020. Two ATRs filled with smoke while starting engines. Aurigny traced it to salt corrosion on an engine air valve, worsened by low use during the pandemic, and changed its maintenance and start procedure.
• Total electrical failure, February 2026. An ATR 72-600 on a positioning flight from Gatwick lost all electrical power at the top of descent towards Guernsey. Only the two pilots were on board and they landed safely. The AAIB classed it as a serious incident and is investigating.

An earlier case in March 2016, when a crew left Manchester in falling snow without de-icing and had to push forward on the controls to hold the climb attitude, is outside our 10-year window. It shows why the 2016 icing upset is more than a one-off. Since then, the cases have been mostly technical, and none has hurt anyone. Aurigny's 2024 annual report also mentions a landing that damaged a landing gear beyond repair; we found no investigation report on it. Incidents score 76.

How old is the Aurigny fleet?

Young, for a regional airline. At the end of 2024 Aurigny flew five ATR 72-600s, three owned and two leased, with an average age of 7.7 years according to its annual report. The single Embraer 195 jet left in 2024, so all routes to the UK mainland now use one type, which simplifies training and maintenance.

The Alderney routes changed in 2025–2026. The two Dornier 228 aircraft that flew there since 2015 made their last scheduled flight in February 2026. Two DHC-6-300 Twin Otters from Isles of Scilly Skybus, which also supplies maintenance, crew training and insurance, took over from November 2025. Skybus operates these flights for Aurigny with its own crews (Bailiwick Express; in October 2026 Skybus staff sickness cancelled some of them, Guernsey Press), so their events count on the Skybus page. The Twin Otter design is decades old, but Skybus says these aircraft were refitted with freshly overhauled engines and modern avionics. Fleet scores 78.

Fog, wind and a short runway

The Channel Islands are hard flying. Guernsey Airport is often closed by sea fog, which is why the owned ATRs carry ClearVision camera systems for low visibility, switched on across that fleet in 2022. Alderney's runway is short, and both islands catch the full force of Atlantic and Channel winds. Destinations on the UK mainland are well-equipped airports, which balances the picture. The environment scores 80: easier than Loganair's Scottish islands, harder than a typical European network.

In 2024 the airline relied heavily on wet-leased aircraft from other airlines while its owned ATRs were grounded for a manufacturing defect. Aurigny's annual report says it helped investigate two safety incidents on those leased services, both run by operators certified by European regulators; those count against the lessors, not Aurigny.

Flying Aurigny: practical points

• Build slack into your plans. Sea fog can close Guernsey for hours. If you have a connection at Gatwick, leave a wide margin or travel the day before.
• On the Twin Otter, there is no cabin crew. Listen to the pilot's briefing on belts and exits, and keep your belt fastened through the short hop; small aircraft move more in wind.
• Check who operates your flight. When Aurigny is short of aircraft, it hires in capacity from other airlines, and the booking shows the operator.

How we scored it

The accident record (90) and the young ATR fleet (78) carry Aurigny: no fatal accident on record, and one tail strikeTail strikeWhen the tail of an aircraft touches the runway during take-off or landing, usually because the nose was raised too far or too early.More in the glossary without injuries. Oversight (86) loses points because Aurigny is not on the IOSAIOSAThe IATA Operational Safety Audit, an international audit of an airline's safety management and operations. Every IATA member must pass it.More in the glossary registry, and incidents (76) for the icing upset and the open 2026 electrical failure. Overall 84, above Loganair (79) and close to Luxair (83).