An airline has returned one of its flight routes to Cornwall earlier than planned.
Loganair’s service between Cornwall Airport Newquay and Manchester took the skies again today (Friday, February 10).
The Scottish airline had initially planned to recommence its Newquay routes from March 26, 2023, but said there that due to an “increasing demand” for the Manchester service - and to meet anticipated demand during the February half-term holiday - it brought the route back onto sale in November 2022 for a February take off.
It will also be returning its routes to Newcastle and Edinburgh, with onward services available to Aberdeen, the Isle of Man and the Scottish highlands and islands.
The restart of services underlines the rekindling of a long-standing relationship with Newquay, with both airline and airport saying they were “looking forward to a busy summer ahead.”
In August last year Loganair announced it was to suspend flying to Cornwall through the winter – with a loss of almost 300 flights.
At the time the airline said 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.”
It had alleged that the airport had chosen to "incentivise operations by other airlines", which left the winter flights unviable.
A spokesperson for Loganair at that time 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.”
In response, Cornwall Newquay Airport had said it was “disappointed” with the decision but assured customers that a daily service would still be available by Flybe – although that airline has since ceased flying after going into administration last month.
The return to Cornwall for Loganair has been welcomed by Luke Lovegrove, chief commercial officer at Loganair, who said today: “It’s great to be back at Cornwall Airport Newquay and to be able to offer our customers increased choice and year-round service.
“Customer demand for summer 2023 has been encouraging – so much so that we took the decision to bring forward the relaunch of our Manchester to Newquay service to today in time for half-term.
“We would strongly encourage customers to book early to avail of the best value fares.”
Cornwall Airport Newquay previously said that London and Manchester had historically made up over 50% of the passenger volumes to and from Cornwall.
Amy Smith, head of commercial at Cornwall Airport Newquay, said: “The connection between Manchester and Newquay is, and always has been, one of our most popular routes.
“We’re delighted to have Loganair back serving this market, as well as other much needed connections to Scotland and the North. We look forward to continuing to work closely with Loganair to further build on the relationship and their commitment to Cornwall.” Flights are available to book online and via travel agents, with all fares including a 15kg luggage allowance, discounts for children aged 11 and under and a mandatory carbon offset charge as part the airlines innovative GreenSkies initiative.
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