Loganair Cuts Hundreds of Flights at Newquay

DALLAS - Loganair (LM), the UK's largest regional carrier, has announced that it will suspend all operations at Cornwall Airport Newquay (NQY) this winter.

NQY will lose around 300 flights between November 2022 and March 2023. The airline has also announced that it will reduce its summer 2023 schedule. Daily flights to Manchester (MAN), which continued to Aberdeen (ABZ), as well as daily flights to Edinburgh (EDI) and Newcastle (NCL), will be lost.

NQY was once a Royal Air Force base known as RAF St. Mawgan. Photo: Cornwall Airport Newquay

Growth Redirected

In a statement, a spokesperson for Loganair said, "It's with a heavy heart that we've taken the decision to withdraw our entire winter Newquay program and to curtail our Summer 2023 plans too."

The airline also said that planned growth from NQY will now be redirected to other airports, "In the meantime, we'll be directing our efforts towards other UK regional airports such as Southampton (SOU), Exeter (EXT), and Cardiff (CWL), where airport management recognize and appreciate the enormous value that year-round, sustainable regional air services can bring to their communities and local economies."

They blamed the "short-sighted and short-term decisions by the airport's management to incentivize unsustainable operations by other airlines, leaving no prospect of winter flights remaining viable, particularly against a backdrop of high fuel prices and rising inflation."

Flybe returns to NQY on October 30. Photo: Flybe

Rivals Return

It is believed that the 'unsuitable operations by other airlines' refer to the return of rival Flybe (BE), which recently announced its return to NQY this winter. Twice-daily flight to London Heathrow (LHR) and a daily link to Manchester (MAN) begin on October 30. At the time, the airports Managing Director Sam O'Dwyer said he was "delighted to be welcoming the new Flybe" back at NQY.

Speaking of LM's withdrawal, NQY issued a statement saying, "We are disappointed that Loganair has made the decision to cancel their flights…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."

"As an airport, we are committed to serving the people and economy of Cornwall, and this is what drives the commercial decisions we make as an airport. We are delighted that we now have more airlines operating from the airport than before the pandemic, offering destination and airline choices to suit every traveler."

Featured Image: Loganair operates a fleet of 13 Embraer ERJ-145s. Photo: Alberto Cucini/Airways