Eastern Airways to run year-round flights between Cornwall and London
EASTERN Airways has secured a huge contract with the Department for Transport to provide a lifeline public service route linking Cornwall to London. The regional airline will fly twice daily, seven days a week between Newquay and Cornwall.
A £5 million subsidy will underpin the route over four years, with revenues of around £25 million forecast for the Humberside business.
It will be served by a 72-seat ATR72-600, one of the most efficient planes in service.
The route was lost during the Flybe collapse, and the return has been managed collaboratively between the government and Cornwall Council.
Eastern already operates services from Leeds-Bradford and Teesside to the South West coast.
A daily service will see it swing into action from December 15, with a doubling up from mid-January.
Adam Wheatley, managing director at Eastern Airways, said: “Helping solve vital regional connectivity is what Eastern Airways has done for 25 years.
“Working in partnership with the
UK Government and Cornwall Council, connecting one of the most distant surface transport journeys in England to the capital via London Gatwick Airport, in a low emission aircraft fits our belief in how sustainable aviation can meet the need of the UK economy and extensive connectivity into the future.”
It is understood it saw off four other bids, including one from British Airways, to operate the route.
The alternative is a five-hour road trip or slightly longer by rail.
Robert Courts, Aviation Minister, said: “We’re maintaining these vital transport links for people right across the country for tourism and business travel.
“The Government is fully behind UK regional connectivity and strengthening these routes
as we build back better from the pandemic.”