Jersey Airport
Jersey Airport (IATA: JER, ICAO: EGJJ) is located in the parish of Saint
Peter, 4 NM (7.4 km; 4.6 mi) west northwest of Saint Helier in Jersey,
one of the British Crown Dependencies in the Channel Islands.
Air service to Jersey before 1937 consisted of biplane airliners and
some seaplanes landing on the beach at Saint Aubin bay. Jersey Airways
and Imperial Airways were among those who operated to the island before
the Second World War, but conditions were difficult as timetables were
governed by tides. It was also difficult to prevent members of the
public from walking across the landing area, and any aircraft which had
mechanical problems had to be dragged up the slipways until the tide
receded.
The States of Jersey decided to build an airport which opened on 10
March 1937 with four grass runways, the longest being 2,940 ft (896 m)
with a concrete centreline. Concrete taxiways were added during the
World War II occupation by the Luftwaffe — they also built hangars, one
of which is still in existence. A 4,200 ft (1,280 m) tarmac runway was
opened in 1952 and the grass strips were closed. A feature of the
airport in the 1950s was the traffic control system — traffic-lights
were in place to prevent vehicles using the road from Les Quennevais to
the Airport when planes were being moved to or from the hangar used by
B.E.A.
The runway was lengthened several times over the years, reaching its
current length in 1976. Additional taxiways were added several years
later to improve access to the one end of the runway. However, due to
its restricted length, in October 2007 Thomsonfly announced the removal
of some services as it introduces the larger Boeing 737-800 to its
fleet.
There are approximately 62,000 aircraft movements and 1.46 million passengers annually at the airport based on 2010 statistics.
The 1937 terminal was designed with a control tower between the arrivals
and departures areas. The terminal was extended in 1976. A new terminal
adjoining the existing terminal was opened in 1997. A new Air Traffic
control tower was completed and opened in late 2010.
Apart from scheduled airline services, Jersey Airport accommodates a
thriving general aviation population, including the Jersey Aero Club. It
is also home to the Jersey International Air Display in September each
year.
