Aurigny has brought in its own ground handling team at Southampton as flight numbers expand.
Aurigny says it now operates as many as 70 Southampton flights a week to and from Guernsey and Alderney.
The increase is partly due to the collapse of Blue Islands and Aurigny winning the lifeline route licence for Guernsey-Southampton.
18 staff have been recruited across Hampshire by Aurigny, and many have aviation experience.
For a lot of passengers, the airport is the best way to get to Southampton Hospital for treatment.
The ability to look after passengers needing special assistance is one of the drivers of the move to set up a Southampton base.
Aurigny estimate 1500 people needed extra assistance last year and it expects that number to increase, with many having mobility issues.
Dave Cox is Aurigny's deputy Chief Operations Officer and in charge of ground handling:
“I am extremely pleased to welcome a new cohort of people to broaden the scope of our Aurigny service team in Southampton.
With our dedication to this vital lifeline service, we recognise the need to have a team that can be flexible and deliver the highest level of customer service."

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