27 February 2009
Guernsey’s Director of Civil Aviation, Fergus Woods, will act for both Guernsey and Jersey from March 2009.
Mr Woods will be the Channel Islands’ independent specialist aviation regulator, responsible for the safety regulation of aerodromes, air traffic and meteorological services for the purposes of air navigation in the Channel Islands.
‘This collaborative approach between the two Islands is good news particularly as we are focusing heavily on working together to create greater efficiencies and reduce expenditure,’ said Jersey’s Chief Minister Senator Terry Le Sueur.
‘Working together on crucial safety issues demonstrates how both islands can benefit from cooperation in a number of different areas,’ said Guernsey’s Chief Minister Lyndon Trott. ‘This initial six month trial is an encouraging development and demonstrates the co-operation between the two islands and I am hopeful that we can build on this relationship in the future.’
‘Mr Woods is very experienced in his field, with an excellent record of leading professional and technical teams to achieve effective, safe and practical solutions in safety regulation,’ said Guernsey’s Commerce and Employment Minister Carla McNulty Bauer. ‘I am delighted that his special skills will be used to benefit the Channel Islands as a whole.
‘We had always hoped that there might be an opportunity for the two islands to share resources in this way and this opportunity has arisen earlier than we initially expected. Mr Woods is also responsible for advising Guernsey on increasingly complex general international aviation issues and the implications on the Island of the transfer of aviation responsibilities from the UK
Department for Transport to central EU bodies. These issues are important but they are long term and the implications of devoting less time to them are outweighed by the immediate benefits of joint working on regulatory issues.’
The appointment of Mr Woods as joint Director of Civil Aviation, for an initial six month period, will be reviewed to determine whether a permanent collaboration would be successful.
Mr Woods is an experienced professional pilot and senior manager who worked for the European Aviation Safety Agency in Cologne before becoming formally established as Guernsey’s Director of Civil Aviation, in January this year, when the Guernsey States of Deliberation confirmed him in the post of Director of Civil Aviation for the Bailiwick of Guernsey.
The current Director of Civil Aviation for Jersey, Jeremy Snowdon has overseen the transition to the new regulatory role, including the introduction of a new Civil Aviation Law and other legislation, and has carried out the work leading up to an important audit by the International Civil Aviation Organisation in February.
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