AURIGNY managing director Malcolm Hart (pictured) has apologised to all passengers stranded in Manchester after one of the airline’s new planes suffered a technical fault.

Twenty-six people had been due to fly to Guernsey on the 7.10pm service on Thursday.

‘I would like to personally apologise to all passengers who were due to fly on the GR679 on Thursday evening for the poor communication of plans to fly them back to the island,’ said Mr Hart.

He added that the pilot had spotted a warning light and so the aircraft was stood down while that was investigated.

‘At that stage it was hoped that the fault could be identified and repaired quickly and passengers could be flown back to Guernsey that evening. After extensive testing it was decided that the aircraft would not be operational that night and the passengers would be given hotel accommodation.’

The cancellation led to a furious bust-up between staff and passengers who felt they had been let down after the airline failed to get them on the next day’s morning service.