Newquay to London air contract not awarded

A process to contract regular year-round flights between London and Newquay has been unsuccessful.

Cornwall Airport Newquay's summer schedule has five flights a week to and from London, down from 35 in 2019.

The deadline to award the four-year public service obligation (PSO) contract has passed, with none awarded.

Cornwall Council said it was working with the Department for Transport and "expects to reinstate a scheduled PSO service to London later in the year".

The PSO is subsidised by the government and was previously operated by Flybe until the company went into administration in March 2020.

The route was then taken on by British Airways for seven months from last summer.

Cornwall Airport Newquay hopes to reopen for passenger flights on 30 April.

Its summer schedules show Manchester as the most popular destination with 13 weekly services.

Currently there are no scheduled flights between Newquay and London after September.

James Pearson, route development analyst with Simple Flying, said: "In 2019, nearly half of all Newquay's passengers were to and from London - it's the foundation of the entire airport. Now, no London airport is anywhere near the top of the list."

He added: "It is all about the winter, and it is going from five flights a day [in winter 2019], down to no flights a week - that is horrendous for an isolated community. It's a ridiculous drop."

With uncertainty over foreign trips this summer, many people are likely to choose to holiday in the UK.

The PSO was set up to ensure a year-round service, including during quieter months that may not be commercially profitable without a subsidy.

Sean Moulton, UK aviation schedule analyst, said: "Now that the PSO has been discontinued, this could lead to other airlines adding Newquay to London flights, but none have put any additional flights on sale as of yet."

He added that "the winter is very uncertain".

Cornwall Council said the airport would be running services to a number of destinations this summer, including Edinburgh, Newcastle, Glasgow, Faro, Dublin, Zurich and the Isles of Scilly.

"We are working in partnership with the Department for Transport and expect to reinstate a scheduled PSO service to London later in the year," it added.

Malcolm Bell, from Visit Cornwall, said he welcomed recent route announcements but "it is vital we have regular flights to and from London, especially as we expect to see a growth of international tourism following the exposure from the G7 summit".

He added: "This is why we hope we will see an announcement on the PSO route soon".

The Department for Transport said the PSO contract was a matter for Cornwall Council, which owns Cornwall Airport Newquay.