UPDATED 22/11/2021 at 1710
Today Eastern Airways confirms that the route will launch on December 15. Initially there will be a single daily flight but rising to twice daily from mid-January.
Flights by ATR-600 prop aircraft will operate into London Gatwick. One-way fares start from £34.99.
Finally it’s been announced that the Newquay to London route has been secured for another four years.
I say “secured” because this route is operated under a PSO (public service obligation) and therefore it will be funded by the Government along with Cornwall Council at a cost of £5 million.
London's calling…https://t.co/wXtsji7WOS
— Cornwall Live (@CornwallLive) November 16, 2021
Eastern Airways of Humberside has been awarded the contract to operate between Newquay and a London airport.
The airport has not been revealed at time of writing and Eastern’s website does not display any information.
Flights start in early December. Officially the schedules and aircraft type have not been revealed but it is understood Eastern will deploy a prop aircraft and that there will initially be a single daily service rising to three flights a day by summer 2022.
This route had been operated by British Airways last summer. Before then the route had been operated under a PSO by Flybe until this airline collapsed in March 2020.
PSO routes are those linking cities which may be awkward to cover by surface travel. They are unlikely to be profitable if operated on a commercial basis.
Two other PSO routes of note are:
- Derry to London Stansted by Loganair. This is funded at a cost of £4 million by the Government and the Northern Ireland Executive.
- Dundee to London City by Loganair. Funded by English Government, Transport Scotland plus Dundee City Council.
