Loganair is re-establishing an air link between Southampton and Aberdeen following the failure of Flybe.
The Scottish carrier is introducing a same-plane service between the two cities with a stop in Newcastle.
The new connection will start on March 23 involving a 30 minute stopover at Newcastle airport.
An evening service will operate in each direction between Aberdeen and Southampton, home to maritime and petrochemical companies dependent on air links which have largely been severed following last week’s collapse of Flybe and the loss of a hub in Manchester which was the main connecting point.
The airline is also adding an extra three weekly services between Aberdeen and Newcastle at peak travel times on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday afternoons from April 29 to complement an existing three-times a day schedule by regional jet.
The move has been taken to ensure that seat capacity is availabe to meet expected demand to and from Newcastle, despite the addition of the new Aberdeen-Southampton through service.
Loganair chief commercial officer Kay Ryan said: “Following last week’s announcement that Loganair will add 16 former Flybe routes to its network, today’s announcement is a further boost for connectivity at Aberdeen and Southampton airports.
“We’ve already introduced replacement flights from Aberdeen to Birmingham, Belfast and Manchester; and from Southampton to Edinburgh, Glasgow and Newcastle and the early response from customers has been very strong indeed despite the cautious approach that many are taking to travel right now.”