There has been a rise in profits and passenger numbers for Ports of Jersey.

The first full year without Covid restrictions saw 1.46 airline passengers pass through Jersey airport.

That is a 10.5% increase on 2022, and gets closer still to the pre-pandemic figure of 1.7 million passengers.

There were also more ferry passengers in 2023 - increasing by more than 97,000, or 26% on the previous year. 

Jersey Airport departures

Profits were also up, rising four-fold to £7.2 million.  The £50.5 million turnover was £5 million more than in 2022. 

Ports of Jersey's CEO Matt Thomas says that will help support ongoing improvements in travel experience and future investment in the harbour and airport.

The upgrade of the Elizabeth Harbour is awaiting planning approval and plans to modernise the airport terminal are expected by the end of the year.

Ports of Jersey CEO Matt Thomas

Mr Thomas says the ambition is to keep improving the island's links:

"We don't want to count our chickens but we're hoping to get back to pre-pandemic levels by 2025. 

"We're very optimistic on the outlook for growth in our connectivity, both air and sea. 

"When we lost connectivity in the pandemic it really shined a light on how important it is for us as an island. 

"There's loads of opportunity to grow our connectivity. We have good connectivity to the UK, but there's big opportunities to grow our connectivity into Europe. 

"This year, we're going to have 15 European destinations. 

"Our challenge is to grow that, so you can buy a ticket on the day and get on a BA or Easyjet flight to European destinations."