The UK’s largest regional airline, Loganair, has today marked one year operating “game-changer” routes from some of the UK’s most remote communities to Heathrow Airport, connecting customers with an array of worldwide destinations.

The airline secured additional highly sought-after Heathrow slots at the airport in 2023 and announced that it would operate services, in addition to those already operating from Isle of Man, from City of Derry, and Dundee, with onward connections to Orkney and Shetland, as part of its expansion in the UK capital.

This week marks one year since those flights took to the skies for the first time, while this month also marks two years since the launch of the airline’s Isle of Man – Heathrow service.

Loganair’s Chief Commercial Officer Luke Lovegrove travelled to the airport to meet with Heathrow Airport’s Chief Customer Officer Ross Baker, commemorating the occasion with a special cake made to celebrate the anniversary. Customers travelling on the morning flight to Dundee and Shetland were gifted island made treats as they embarked the morning service.

Through Loganair’s variety of codeshare and interline agreements, customers are able to easily connect through Heathrow to over 90 destinations across the globe such as New York, Tokyo and Singapore.

The routes offer a three times daily service from City of Derry, a two times daily weekday service from Dundee, with one flight on Sundays, and a twice weekly summer service from Orkney and Shetland via Dundee, while the Isle of Man services operates daily. This summer additional weekend services have been added to the popular Isle of Man to Heathrow service.

Loganair brought the first-ever link between Heathrow Airport and the City of Derry, Sumburgh and Kirkwall Airports , and restored an air link from Heathrow to Dundee last offered a generation ago. The routes have been incredibly popular with both business and leisure customers alike and have connected more than 100,000 customers within the last year.

Luke Lovegrove, Chief Commercial Officer  of Loganair, said: “We are pleased to be at Heathrow Airport today celebrating one year of what has been game-changer routes for the remote communities we serve across the UK.

“These services provide essential connectivity to those regions, unlocking global connectivity and tourism as well as opening up direct access from London to some of the most scenic parts of the UK.”

Ross Baker, Chief Customer Officer, Heathrow said: ‘It is fantastic to join Loganair to celebrate one year of their services to Dundee, Shetland, Orkney and the City of Derry.

“With a strong start to the year, domestic passenger numbers at Heathrow are the highest they have been in nearly a decade. Loganair are key to supporting this by widening the choice for passengers, opening up connectivity across Scotland and Northern Ireland to the UK’s hub.

“Regional connectivity is key to unlocking economic growth for every part of the UK and through our domestic discount, we are proud to support these lifeline routes at Heathrow.”

Reservations for flights to and from Heathrow Airport can be made at loganair.co.uk or via travel agents. All Loganair flights include 15kg luggage allowance as standard, and advance booking is encouraged to benefit from the best value fares. Frequent Loganair customers can also take advantage of the airline’s loyalty programme – Clan Loganair.