An air link between London City airport and Antwerp in Belgium is being re-established in the new year.
Luxair is to start serving the route to Belgium’s second largest city from January 16 with four flights a week with fares starting at £139 return.
The frequency will then rise to five flights a week for the summer from March 29.
The route was previously served by VLM before its collapse in 2016. The service was taken over by Air Antwerp which ceased operations in summer 2021 amid the pandemic.
The first route by Luxair not to run from its home country will be served by 73-seat Embraer Q400 turboprop aircraft and will complement six flights a day between London City and Luxembourg.
London City aviation director Anne Doyere said: “Reconnecting London to Europe’s regions has been a post pandemic priority of ours, and we are delighted to be able to grow our partnership with Luxair by once again offering the only direct flight from the UK to Antwerp.”
Antwerp airport chief executive Eric Dumas added: “We want to offer both tourists and business travellers a tailored flight programme. Reconnecting our airport with London City was a first important step in this.
“The connection to London is also an iconic route for the airport. Our airport has had a fast connection to and from the UK’s capital for over 25 years. We are particularly pleased to achieve this objective with Luxair, an operator recognised in Europe for the quality of its services.
“This partnership was the best possible option for us, based on trust, quality of service and sustainability.”
Luxair chief executive Gilles Feith said: “The opening of this new route from London City to Antwerp is a new venture for Luxair and an opportunity, once again, to pursue new opportunities.
“This new service is part of the innovation process undertaken by Luxair since the Covid-19 period. All our teams are working to constantly offer new services and products to our customers.”