Air Southwest’s Gatwick-Plymouth air route to close
Date added: 10 January, 2011
10.1.2011 (ABTN)
by Gary Noakes
Plymouth is to lose its air link to Gatwick after Air Southwest announced closure
of the loss-making route.
Air Southwest’s flights, which operate from Plymouth via Newquay, (which is further from Gatwick than Plymouth ] will cease on February 1. The decision follows the takeover of Air Southwest
by Humberside-based Eastern Airways in September, which has vowed to return its
subsidiary to profitability.
The closure is a setback for Plymouth airport, whose parent company Sutton Harbour
Holdings sold Air Southwest to Eastern Airways.
“The flights were just not being used enough and Gatwick’s landing charges are
going up next month,” said an Air Southwest spokesman.
Flybe, which operates from Newquay to Gatwick, has offered to re-protect passengers
booked with Air Southwest. However, Flybe cannot operate from Plymouth as its
78-seat Q-400 aircraft are too big for the runway length.
Air Southwest, which operates 50-seat Dash 8 aircraft from Plymouth, said it
would continue to fly from Newquay to eight UK and Ireland destinations and from
Plymouth to Ireland, Scotland and the Channel Islands as well as to Leeds/Bradford,
Bristol and Manchester.
[The Plymouth to Newquay route must be about the shortest flight distance in
the UK].
Flightmapping:
This leaves Plymouth with the following destinations:
Bristol
Cardiff
Cork
Dubli
Glasgow
Leeds Bradford
Manchester
Newcastle
Posted: Monday, January 10th, 2011. Filed in News about Airports.
