Plymouth to lose vital London link

Eastern Airways, the new owner of Air South West, is to close both the Newquay and Plymouth Dash 8 services to Gatwick on 1 February, citing an 18% rise in the cost of operating at the London airport.  The loss of the route is considered as a body blow by the city of Plymouth with poor road connections to the central parts of the UK, and an inadequate railway service.  The city boomed from inward investment with the introduction of a four times daily air service to Heathrow by Brymon Airways in 1981, lost in 1993, the slots too valuable for 50-seat aircraft.

The big beneficiary of the closure is likely to be Flybe and Newquay Airport with passengers in West Devon and East Cornwall forced to use the former RAF St Mawgan and the Exeter-based carrier picking up Air South West customers.  Flybe currently flies three times daily non-stop to Gatwick with a Q400.  A lack of competition will affect fares.

The loss of the London services at Plymouth, and the possible closure of the airport, Gatwick representing nearly half of the airport’s throughput, can be directly attributed to the lack of imagination by those in authority whenever an extension of the runway was mooted. www.airsouthwest.com

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