Teesside Airport loses Cornwall flight
A route from Teesside to a UK tourist hotspot has been scrapped in a blow to the region’s airport.
Loganair has pulled out of its routes from Newquay airport in Cornwall which will see an early end to Teesside’s summer weekly flight to the South-west. The seasonal route was set to stop at the end of October.
But now the prospects for the route returning next summer look bleak. A spokesperson for Teesside Airport said: “We are disappointed to see Loganair has pulled its routes to Newquay on what appears to be a disagreement between the airline and Newquay-Cornwall airport. We continue to work with numerous airline partners to look at growing our route connectivity.”
The route to Cornwall was unveiled as part of a package of five destinations in late 2020. The blow comes after Teesside lost its route to London earlier this year.
The airport recorded losses of £11.8m in 2021/22 – but airport bosses have insisted covid and infrastructure investments had contributed to the figure. A LinkedIn post by Loganair boss Jonathan Hinkles shed more light on the disagreement with the Cornish airport.
He confirmed it had taken the decision to suspend all flights from Cornwall Airport Newquay – placing the blame with the airport for the decision. Mr Hinkles wrote: “For now, Loganair will be consolidating our focus at other regional airports including Exeter, Cardiff and Southampton, where the airport teams recognise and value the benefits that year-round, sustainable connectivity brings. I believe the airport’s decisions are as short-sighted as they are short-termist, and will have genuinely adverse consequences for Cornwall’s year-round air connectivity.”
Newcastle will also lose its four weekly flights to Newquay. A spokesperson for Loganair told the Chronicle: “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.”
Cornwall Airport Newquay responded: “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.”