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Alderney residents have been advised that air fares to and from the island will "never" get cheaper.

Malcolm Hart, managing director of airline Aurigny, said that flying to the island was expensive for the company, as well as for passengers.

He said that although his airline's ticket prices would not fall, the island's air links would remain safe.

Mr Hart was responding to two Alderney hoteliers who said cheaper fares would attract tourists.

The pair told ´óÏó´«Ã½ News that Alderney's visitor numbers had been down in 2011.

Mr Hart said: "It's an incredibly expensive route to operate and people have to recognise with only a small level of demand, relatively speaking in the airline world, you have to pay more."

The comments came after the president of the island's Chamber of Commerce called for Aurigny's Alderney to Southampton route to be preserved "at all costs".

The Aurigny boss responded by saying: "There's absolutely no threat to our service from Alderney to Southampton, in my view, for the next at least 15 or 20 years."

Aurigny is currently the only airline serving Alderney, maintaining air links between the island and Guernsey and Southampton.