Eastern Airways has announced plans for a new route between Cornwall Airport Newquay and East Midlands airport, which it says “will save almost ten hours compared to surface transport options on a round-trip”.
The daily year-round service will commence on February 10, 2023, operated by 72-seater ATR aircraft, with flights departing Newquay at 1045 (1440 on Sunday) and leaving East Midlands at 1240 (1635 on Sunday).
The new route will join Eastern’s existing service from Newquay to Gatwick (which is set to increase to three-times-daily next year) and seasonal flights to Humberside.
Commenting on the news Roger Hage, commercial director, Eastern Airways, said:
“This is a major step in growing connectivity to the Cornwall base and the only Midlands service to the South-West of England.
“By adding East-Midlands Airport with the major cities of Nottingham, Derby, Leicester all within 30-minutes and Sheffield within an hour, this welcome addition to the domestic network at East-Midlands will aid those who travel for business, visit friends and family or seek a welcome leisure break with the need for international travel.
“Adding the new destination of Newquay, this significantly improves access to the UK staycation destination of choice.
“We want to ensure the right services are being offered given Eastern Airways is all about supporting the regions of the UK, connecting people and places, so growing our Cornish network and capacity is a crucial part of increasing connectivity and aiding economic recovery to both business and the UK’s vital tourism sector where sustainable.”
Cornwall Airport Newquay has been steadily growing its operations in recent months, with Flybe recently launching routes from the UK’s southwest airport to Heathrow and Manchester.
The growth has not been universally welcomed however, with Loganair suspending all operations at the airport this winter, citing “short-sighted and short-term decisions by the airport’s management to incentivise unsustainable operations”.
Loganair CEO: Newquay airport’s decisions “short-sighted and short-termist”
