Newquay Cornwall Airport (NQY) is again to be linked to Heathrow (LHR), nearly 30 years after Brymon Airways introduced a similar De Havilland Dash 8 aircraft on the route.  At the same time an airport slot expert has queried the airline’s presence at the major airport.


Historically the Plymouth City Airport based airline flew the series 300 Toronto-built 50-seat aircraft to the old Terminal One, four times daily. 

From the start of the winter season Flybe will operate the LHR – NQY sector twice daily on weekdays flying the current 78-seat Q400 model.

There is a single Saturday and Sunday service, the aircraft also used for a return flight to Manchester.

Newquay has always been a question of LHR slots, Brymon purchased in 1993 by British Airways, the airline moving to Gatwick as its London terminal and BA gaining further LHR access for other more profitable destinations.

Flybe is thought to have gained the slots by quietly dropping Leeds Bradford to LHR at the end of the summer season.  This loss-making route came about with its takeover of the previous Flybe company and a CAA ruling.  These slots had to be taken up by a certain date.  The airline also operates a twice daily (except Saturday) Amsterdam (AMS) – LHR services and twice daily Belfast City with the Q400.

“It just does not seem to make sense from a commercial, or environmental, point of view, how this operation is logical”, said an expert on these matters.  “Slots are valuable and are better used by bigger aircraft.  Flybe is competing against national airlines.  It achieves nothing. Better their limited resources are used in developing much needed domestic routes, Cardiff for example desperately needs more UK connections.  What is the true motive?”

Now an established Newquay airline Eastern Airways has since last December operated up to three times daily 72-seat ATR flights from Gatwick.

Also new for the winter season Flybe has added services from Belfast City to Birmingham and East Midlands and Southampton to Glasgow.   

www.flybe.com

www.easternairways.com