Guernsey flight mysteriously tracked by 1.3 million people online

A flight from Guernsey to Manchester was tracked online by more than a million people for unknown reasons.

Aurigny said its regularly operated route on Monday was watched by 1.3 million people on the app Flightradar24, making it “one of the most watched flights in the world”.

Flightradar24 said on its social media channels that this was “the most interested anyone has ever been in an ATR 72 – and no, we have no idea why”.

Speculation as to why the flight was tracked included having the “crown jewels” onboard to famous celebrities, the Guernsey airline said.

Tamer Birsen, the ATR First Officer who was piloting the aircraft, said the team were operating “just a routine flight”.

He said: “To discover afterwards this curious news that over one million people had been there watching with us was a real surprise – it’s great to have our 15 minutes of fame!

“Guernsey is a beautiful place, and it’s definitely well worth a real-world visit.”

Sam Claxton, Marketing Manager for VisitGuernsey, hoped the “curiosity or coincidence” would bring more people to the island.

“It’s not every day that Guernsey finds itself in the global spotlight thanks to a routine flight,” he said.

“But we’re thrilled that so many people got a glimpse of our island, even if just virtually.”

Aurigny said although the reasons remained a mystery, “more people than ever are now aware of Guernsey and its national airline”.