3rd April 1934

States votes to buy land to build Jersey Airport

Prior to the opening of Jersey Airport, all aircraft serving the island took off from and landed on the beach. Initially they had called only at Portsmouth on the mainland, but by the time the States moved to buy the airport site, they were also operating out of Southampton, with Portsmouth still used to pick up local passengers and as a customs hub.

The airport site in St Peter’s had been approved by the Air Ministry and it cost the States £20,000 to acquire. This was in addition to the projected construction costs but would make Jersey the hub of a network that would see aircraft setting off from London, calling at the west of England, heading south to Jersey, and from there continuing to France, with stops on the way.

Part of the land, which lay beside St Peter’s Barracks, was owned by the War Department. The rest comprised 70 fields totalling 71 acres.