05/01/2017 Channel Islands News

Flight and passenger numbers continue to fall

Everything that affect the two Islands is costing a lot of money to

do a ten minute flight. Good evening, and welcome

to the late news from And: remove it or loose it -

the abandoned vehicles New figures show the number

of people flying between the Channel Islands has continued

to drop in recent years, with 2016 The airline Blue Islands says it's

'regrettable' but the fall in demand However, many in the sports

and holiday industry Lizzie has just flown

into Jersey from Guernsey. She's not impressed

with inter-island travel. We think everything's running

smoothly, then all of a sudden we get phone calls quite a lot

saying it's cancelled or they've moved the flight times,

and it's not ideal. And it seems she's not

the only one being put off. Over the past three years,

the number of people flying between the Channel Islands has

continued to fall, with a 4% drop Last year the decline

was even worse, at 9% - The airline Blue Islands says it's

partly due to unprecedented weather disruption in 2016,

and to businesses increasingly using tele-conferencing rather

than inter-island travel. But many in the sport and leisure

industry are blaming flight The prices have gone

up quite considerably to what they were 12 to 18 months

ago, and people are looking at the cost of taking children,

not only teams, but also... I mean, it goes across the board,

choirs, you name it, everything that affects the two

islands is costing a lot of money The airline points to the increase

in airport fees it's faced, and insists it provides enough

choice, with up to 16 flights a day. Although some islanders

may hark back to a time With the plane sizes now, they're

definitely bigger than they were. Those of us that remember

the Trislanders hopping backwards and forwards,

it was like a bus service. Now, the airlines use 40-plus seats

and therefore there can't be the number of flights

that there were. Blue Islands operates

the Jersey-Guernsey route with Flybe as its franchise partner,

after Aurigny withdrew last year - a deal that's currently

being investigated by And the outcome will no

doubt watched closely by passengers like Lizzie,

who feel inter-island flying has The Channel Islands

are going through one Rainfall has been so rare that

in Guernsey and Jersey it was the second driest

December on record. But as Mike Wilkins reports,

some are more than happy These are probably the happiest cows

in the Channel Islands today. It's the first time these calves'

hooves have ever touched grass. The farmer who owns them told me

it's much easier to introduce them to the outdoors with the sun

on their back, rather He says the good weather

is helping his farm. We are not collecting as much slurry

because the rain isn't as much. So it's just nice to not have

to walk around in the rain, really. And in Jersey, the arid weather's

helping its world famous At the moment we're not too

worried, clearly we do If you look at reservoirs,

they are half empty. But from the perspective

we are now back with ideal But whilst it's been good news

for some farmers, it's not so great The water levels behind me

at the reservoir look lower than they should be at this

time of year. We have approached Guernsey Water

for the latest figures, but they haven't been able

to talk to us. But it shouldn't come

as much of a surprise considering that this December has

been the driest since 1879. It's unclear what impact a dry

summer and now a dry winter could have on water reserves

and prices, but for now, many are happy to enjoy

this unseasonal weather. It's a New Year clean up

many say is overdue. Tomorrow - nearly 30 vehicles unused

or abandoned on a Jersey trading estate will be towed away

if not claimed. Businesses on the Rue des

Pres Estate in St Saviour welcome the move but are also concerned that

stricter parking measures due to be brought in have not

been thought through. I spoke to Alison Moss

who was at the Rue des Pres Estate Alison, it looks like some of those

vehicles are not in any state to be driven? Just look at it, we have a

flat tire, and in the year, it is unlocked. Only one seat. It is

completely and rove worthy and there are vehicles like this all down the

road. -- and ready for -- not ready for the road. There are several

other cars which have to be claimed by tomorrow, otherwise they will be

taken away and potentially destroyed. They are not only an

eyesore on the Rue des Pres Estate but they cause a legitimate security

concern for traders and businesses. People can park anywhere they want

to, there are no designated spaces, and there are a lot of people

without any business interests on the estate using the estate for free

parking during the day. It is obviously leaving a lot of employees

and businesses on the estate without any safe parking. So, why is the

estate taking control? At the moment, the states cannot impose

fines or penalties for vehicles parked by this because they do not

own the road. By taking over the private road they can do that but

policing it will cost money. To get that money, the states want to

impose a parking charge for all of the business here on the Rue des

Pres Estate which is becoming contentious because it will cost the

same amount as trading in central Sydney earlier, and traders say that

away to get away from such away to get away from such

restrictions. So, what are they doing? They are meeting the deputy

minister next Tuesday -- St Hellier. Everybody understands that it is a

safety concern, unsightly and not good for trade on the trading

estate. They want to compromise but in the meantime, if the calls like

this one are not claimed by tomorrow, tow trucks will be living

in -- be vehicles. Everybody agrees that taking the used cars away is a

step in the right direction. A tax office worker accused

of stealing hundreds of pounds in Jersey has been cleared

of all charges. 40-year-old Carl Robert Frankum, who

worked at Cyril Le Marquand House, denied two counts of stealing

from the States of Jersey The prosecution claimed he took tax

cash payments for himself, but a jury acquitted him

after a two-day trial Pressure on hospital beds in Jersey

is said to be "easing", after being on red alert before

Christmas. During the holidays bed capacity

at Jersey General Hospital varied A spokesman says this was due

to a "planned reduction in the number of operations"

plus new measures to help make beds available for emergency admissions,

meanwhile flu and norovirus levels The ?45 million deal to buy

Channel Islands building supplier, The deal sees more than 150 staff

across both Guernsey New owners, Sigma Roc PLC,

completed the purchase earlier this week and the company began trading

on London's Alternative It's getting closer to the weekend,

so let's see what the weather Thank you. Hello and good evening. A

bright day to look forward to tomorrow, it is quite cold. Six or 7

degrees is the top temperature and possible frost tonight. Later in the

day, more cloud and drizzle coming our way overnight. The change into

the weekend will be the change to mild air, we lose this area of high

pressure, close by at the moment across central Britain. It will

weaken and gets pushed out a way as these two weather fronts arrive.

Slow progress on these two systems, not getting to us until overnight on

Friday and into Saturday. But when they are with us on Saturday, they

keep as cloudy -- keep as cloudy. Skies will be clear enough to get

those temperatures low, they are falling already and overnight we

could have temperatures as low as two or three degrees, above

freezing. A possibility of frost first thing on the islands, winds

pick up, not as low as they could be, a southerly breeze, that will

continue to feed in brighter and dry weather for much of the data more

about late in the day, we see more cloud arriving from the North West.

It will have be skies, temperatures struggle, six or 7 degrees will be

the maximum. Heading into Europe, cold air here as well. Lovely across

Spain and Portugal, quiet here, France is called, just one or 2

degrees above freezing for a large part of France for much of the day

tomorrow. When we get into the weekend, milder air arrives,

temperatures back into double figures. A cloudy day on Saturday,

but then brighter with sunny spells on Sunday.

Have a good night. That's all for tonight, BBC Radio 's Guernsey and

Jersey have bulletins from six o'clock tomorrow morning, Alison is

with you from 6:30pm tomorrow night. Good night.

creeping up by a notch or two, 10, maybe nine Celsius. Here is Louise

with the national picture. Won't it cold and frosty this

morning? The coldest night of the winter so far in England. Down to

minus 8 Celsius. But widely, the temperatures below freezing. Through