One of the UK's largest regional airlines has announced it is to suspend flying to Cornwall through the winter – with a loss of almost 300 flights.

Loganair said daily services to and from Manchester and onwards to Aberdeen, together with non-stop flights to Edinburgh and Newcastle, will be completely suspended at Cornwall Airport Newquay between November 2022 and March 2023 .

In all, almost 300 flights scheduled to Newquay over the coming winter season have been withdrawn from the airline’s schedule.

And in a further blow, summer routes linking Newquay with Teesside and onwards to Inverness, via onward connections from Manchester, will not return in 2023, with the airline saying planned growth on other routes will be redirected to other UK airports.

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."

The airline alleged that the airport had chosen to "incentivise operations by other airlines", which left the winter flights unviable.

It went on to add that it would be "directing its efforts" to other airports that "appreciate the enormous value that year-round, sustainable regional air services can bring to their communities and local economies.”

"We’re most disappointed that short-sighted and short-term decisions by the airport’s management to incentivise operations by other airlines leave no prospect of winter flights remaining viable, particularly against a backdrop of high fuel prices and rising inflation," it said.

“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.”

Loganair said it had contacted all customers with forward winter bookings on the affected routes, giving them the opportunity to change the date of travel date or receive a refund, adding that the remainder of its summer 2023 flights were on sale as normal.

A spokesperson for Cornwall Newquay Airport 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% 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 October 30, 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."

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