Jersey-based C. I. Travel Group is launching a new air route from Cambridge Airport to Jersey, linking the famous university city with the island for the first time since 2006.

Operated by Channel Islands-based Blue Islands using a 48 seat ATR-42 aircraft, the route will be sold exclusively by C. I. Travel Group’s well-established consumer brands that include Airways Holidays, Discover Jersey and JerseyTravel.com.

The route will also be available to Jersey hoteliers wishing to offer their own clients from the Cambridge area a direct flight to the island.

Jersey is the largest of the Channel Islands – a British Crown Dependency – and boasts an unrivalled sunshine record compared to any point in the UK, with an average of 1.912 hours of sunshine every year.

Robert Mackenzie, MD of C. I. Travel Group said: “We are delighted to have concluded negotiations for the launch of a new service from Cambridge for the summer.

“Many people are getting pretty tired of the queues, hassle and delays at the big airport hubs and with a distance of less than 100 metres from the front door of the terminal to the aircraft steps, the Cambridge experience will be much more relaxed.”

“We also see that many more UK holiday-takers are deserting the Euro-zone in favour of a holiday closer to home and therefore believe that this new route will prove to be popular with both new and existing clients in the Cambridge area.”

David de Carteret, director of tourism, welcomed the announcement of the new service. “C. I. Travel Group’s initiative is welcomed by everyone in Jersey’s tourism industry as this opens up an excellent opportunity for the island to market itself to a community that can now put Jersey on their shopping list as a very convenient and attractive option.”