Loganair is scrapping almost 300 flights after the airline confirmed it is suspending all operations at Cornwall Airport Newquay over winter. The decision, which will mean Loganair has no presence at the site between November 2022 and March 2023, affects three routes to Scotland.
The daily services to Aberdeen Airport, via Manchester, will be axed, as will non-stop flights to Edinburgh and Newcastle. It means almost 300 flights scheduled at Newquay over the five-month period will be scrapped by the UK's largest regional airline.
And more planned flights will be withdrawn for next year's summer schedule, which starts in March. Loganair flights to Inverness Airport, via Teeside, will not return to the schedule.
Loganair - Scotland's airline - has blasted the "short-sighted decisions" made by bosses at Cornwall Airport Newquay, which it claims left "no prospect" of the winter schedule going ahead as planned. A spokesperson said Loganiar would direct its focus to other regional airports across the UK.
All customers who had booked on the now-scrapped routes have been offered alternative travel options or a refund. The firm's summer schedule flights are on sale as normal.
A spokesperson for Loganair said: “It’s with a heavy heart that we’ve taken the decision to withdraw our entire winter Newquay programme and to curtail our Summer 2023 plans too. Despite all of the challenges that the pandemic has delivered, we’ve worked incredibly hard over the last two years to build up our presence at Cornwall Airport Newquay.
"We’re most disappointed that short-sighted and short-term decisions by the airport’s management to incentivise unsustainable operations by other airlines leave no prospect of winter flights remaining viable, particularly against a backdrop of high fuel prices and rising inflation.
"In the meantime, we’ll be directing our efforts towards other UK regional airports such as Southampton, Exeter and Cardiff, where airport managements recognise and appreciate the enormous value that year-round, sustainable regional air services can bring to their communities and local economies.”
A spokesperson for Cornwall Airport Newquay said: "We are disappointed that Loganair have made the decision to cancel their flights to Manchester and Edinburgh this winter, but would like to reassure our passengers that a daily service to Manchester is still available with flybe and we look forward to welcoming Loganair back on both routes in the spring.
"As an airport, we are committed to serving the people and economy of Cornwall and this is what drives the commercial decisions we make as an airport. We are delighted that we now have more airlines operating from the airport than before the pandemic, offering destination and airline choice to suit every traveller.
"London and Manchester have historically made up over 50 per cent of the passenger volumes to and from Cornwall Airport Newquay and we are delighted to now be able to offer the choice of up to three flights a day to both Heathrow (flybe, commences 30 October and British Airways) and Gatwick (Eastern Airways), with three airlines operating services to Manchester (Loganair, flybe and easyJet), helping to build back not only the capacity needed on these routes but also offering choice and flexibility to our passengers."
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
