Teesside Airport: London and Southampton routes cut by Loganair

[ainsworth74]

In a truly shocking development:

Teesside Airport's London route cancelled by Loganair​

A MAJOR route from a North East airport to London has shockingly been cancelled due to a sharp increase in costs which made it “unviable” to continue.

Teesside Airport’s route to the capital has been shelved after a sharp increase in take-off and landing fees forced provider Loganair to stop the popular route.

Heathrow Airport has been criticised for hiking its fees by 37 per cent, resulting in a charge of £30.10 per passenger which Teesside bosses branded “impossible” to afford.

A daily service between the airports was re-established in September 2020 after a decade-long absence, when it was hailed as connecting Teesside to more than 180 destinations worldwide.

It was withdrawn last January amid the pandemic but Loganair took on the route in March.

The route has long been seen as crucial to the success of the airport, which was brought into public ownership in 2019.

But the London Heathrow service will come to an end in two weeks, despite attempts to persuade Heathrow to lower the charges to allow for continued regional connectivity.

The Teesside to Southampton service will also stop as a result of the cessation of the London service as it cannot be accommodated on the remaining Loganair aircraft.

Mr Houchen blasted Heathrow for its decision, which he says will impact the region, in carrying out the Government’s Levelling Up agenda.

“This is daylight robbery, and it is disgraceful that Heathrow is attempted to line its own pockets at the expense of not just those passengers who regularly used the service but at the expense of everyone living in the region,” he said.

Bookings for the route had increased week by week, with last week being the best ever for forward bookings to London, but passengers will now have to revise their plans.

...

Teesside Airport's Heathrow route is AXED after sharp rise in costs

A MAJOR route from a North East airport to London has shockingly been cancelled due to a sharp increase in costs which made it “unviable” to…

www.thenorthernecho.co.uk

The Southampton route has also been axed this afternoon as well it seems:

Loganair route between Teesside Airport and Southampton is scrapped​

A SECOND route from Teesside Airport will also be scrapped after the loss of a major route to London Heathrow, it has been confirmed.

Loganair's service between the airport and Southampton Airport will also come to an end once the last London flight departs.

The Northern Echo understands that the route will stop as a result of the cessation of the London service as it cannot be accommodated on the remaining Loganair aircraft.

...

Teesside Airport confirms SECOND route will also be scrapped after Heathrow axe

A SECOND route from Teesside will also be scrapped after the loss of a major route to London Heathrow, it has been confirmed.

www.thenorthernecho.co.uk

Shocking development I tell you. Still, at least the local Council Tax payers aren't on the hook for when the airport eventually folds. Oh...

 

[Darandio]

Can't believe it. Didn't see this coming at all....

At least there's a photo-op for Houchen in the coming days. Hard hat and sad face.

 

[swt_passenger]

He’d probably have been more useful putting more help towards station improvements to help the upcoming ECML 2 hourly Kings Cross service.

 

[bearhugger]

Can't believe it. Didn't see this coming at all....

At least there's a photo-op for Houchen in the coming days. Hard hat and sad face.

Perhaps I've missed it, but he seems quite quiet on the subject - only heard one brief interview on BBC Tees radio where he & Andy McDonald seem to disagree slightly on the costings of the landing fees that led to this decision.

 

[AlterEgo]

Perhaps I've missed it, but he seems quite quiet on the subject - only heard one brief interview on BBC Tees radio where he & Andy McDonald seem to disagree slightly on the costings of the landing fees that led to this decision.

Does the airport still command a lot of politics in the area? My sense is that Teessiders, who hail from an area often unfairly derided as "forgotten", prize the airport as in some way putting it on the map. I figured that was part of the reason for the re-renaming of the airport back to Teesside.

 

[ainsworth74]

Does the airport still command a lot of politics in the area? My sense is that Teessiders, who hail from an area often unfairly derided as "forgotten", prize the airport as in some way putting it on the map. I figured that was part of the reason for the re-renaming of the airport back to Teesside.

It does seem to be still something of a local political talisman. Houchen and the local Tories make great play of having "saved" the airport. I don't have any real info as to how much of an impact that is having on how people are voting (though Houchen did get 72% of the vote last time out in 2021) but I presume they're seeing something that suggests it plays well to big up the airport and their role in "saving" it with our money.

Certainly this Teessider thinks its a total waste of taxpayer money and would rather it either stands on its own two feet or is closed and sold off for re-development rather than having risked taxpayer money on propping it up for no good reason.