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WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BY DEPUTY G.P. SOUTHERN OF ST. HELIER
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY, 7th NOVEMBER 2006
Question
Would the Minister inform members what action, if any, he or either of his Assistant Ministers took on Saturday 28th October 2006 to request Flybe to delay the departure of flight BE953 from Gatwick, what costs, if any, were incurred as a result of the delay and would he state who will be paying these costs?
Answer
At approximately 7.30 p.m. Saturday, 28th October, I received a telephone call from one of the director-promoters from the event which was being held at Fort Regent. He asked if Economic Development had any contacts at Flybe as one of the main line up artists had been refused check in due to the weight of some sound equipment which exceeded the Gatwick Airport item restriction of 32 kilos. I was advised that the passenger and an assistant had presented himself for check-in well in advance.
After contacting my Assistant Minister, in the space of the next five minutes, I spoke to the Operations Director of Flybe and drew his attention to the issue that had been explained to me. He said that he would contact Gatwick Airport and ascertain if anything could be done to ensure the passenger travelled.
The Operations Director at Flybe made an operational decision to allow the passenger and his equipment to fly and this resulted in the delay of the flight.
The flights landed at 21:43. The charge for the airport extension was £620 and covers all airport staff and operating costs. It is being billed and paid for by the promoters of the event.
I take this opportunity of recognising the fact that Flybe were prepared to make a decision which was designed to assist a local event, but also to apologise to the other passengers who were inconvenienced by the delayed flight.