Loganair is withdrawing routes from Cornwall this winter, accusing Newquay airport of supporting “unsustainable” services by rival carriers.
The UK’s largest regional airline is also dropping summer flights to Teesside and onto Inverness in 2023.
The suspension of operations at Cornwall airport Newquay this winter covers daily flights to Manchester and onwards to Aberdeen, together with non-stop flights to Edinburgh and Newcastle.
The routes will dropped between November and March next year.
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Almost 300 flights scheduled to Newquay over the winter season have been withdrawn from the airline’s schedule.
Planned growth on other routes for next summer being redirected to other UK airports.
The airline said it had contacted all customers with forward winter bookings on the affected routes to offer a change of travel date or refund options.
The contraction announcement came a week after reborn Flybe confirmed the start of winter services from Newquay to Heathrow and Manchester from October 30.
A Loganair spokesperson 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% 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.”