International Air Display At Risk
This year’s Jersey International Air Display could be in serious jeopardy because of the island's newest attraction, organisers have said.
Following the announcement that a 60-metre high observation wheel is to be assembled on the Waterfront, air display organisers say the Eye will be a problem.
Mike Higgins, the air display organiser, said: "If the report that the wheel is twice the height of the Radisson Hotel is correct it could constitute an extreme flight safety hazard for aircraft taking part in this year’s flying display, depending upon where and how it is sited.
"At the very least it could result in the display line being pushed even further out into St Aubin’s bay than it is at present with the result that it would be pointless having an air display at all as spectators would require binoculars to see the aircraft taking part in it.
"We are absolutely amazed that no one appears to have considered the consequences of bringing this attraction to the Island and siting it on the waterfront on the air display and the Island’s economy.
"We have not been consulted in any way. The highlights of this year’s display, so far, includes many old favourites such as the Red Arrows, Eurofighter Typhoon, warbirds such as the B-17 Flying Fortress, P-51 Mustang, B-25 Mitchell etc and but also some rarely seen civil airliners such as the BAC 1-11, the French Air Force aerobatic display team the Patrouille de France (who selected Jersey as one of their only two appearances in the British Isles this year) and the awesome Avro Vulcan V-Bomber. All this is now in jeopardy.
"Whilst we accept that the wheel is likely to be an attraction to visitors already in the Island we do not believe the mere presence of the wheel in the island for five months will bring one additional visitor to the Island specifically to ride upon it.
"The air display on the other hand attracts thousands of visitors to the island each year from as far away as Canada and the west coast of the United States (according to reports of interviews with spectators watching the air display in the Jersey Evening Post over the last two years) and we are advised by hoteliers that air display week is their busiest week of the year and that they are filled at or almost to capacity.
"If the wheel does cause the air display to be cancelled it will not only have a detrimental effect on hoteliers but also on the wider economy as a whole due to reduced spending in restaurants and shops during the week of the air display due to the absence of the visitors who would normally come to watch the display, the participants who take part in it, and the military personnel who come to the Island to help us stage it."
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