Loganair, in partnership with the Isle of Man government, will commence daily services between the island and London Heathrow, from 1 December. Tickets are on sale for the route from today, which will maintain essential connectivity for the Isle of Man with destinations worldwide.
The airline had previously taken over the route between the Isle of Man and London City from British Airways on an interim basis at the start of September. The service will now move to the UK capital’s largest airport, which has continued to offer a wide range of onward connecting flights despite the impact of the pandemic. This will be the first time that the Glasgow-based airline – now the UK’s largest regional operator – has operated a permanent scheduled service to Heathrow. It follows moves by Loganair to secure runway slots at Heathrow for the IOM service.
The route will be operated using a 49-seater Embraer 145 regional jet. Saturday flights will be introduced from 19 December, and as is the norm, flights will not take place on 25 and 26 December and 1 January.
The carrier already operates routes from the Isle of Man to Liverpool and Manchester and has maintained the island’s passenger air services following the demise of Flybe and the introduction of Covid-19 lockdowns in March 2020. The airline employs pilots and cabin crew based in the Isle of Man and contracts the maintenance of its aircraft to local company M&A Technical Services, which is based at Ronaldsway.
Loganair’s chief executive Jonathan Hinkles said: “We are heartened to be able to restore the Isle of Man’s connectivity to London Heathrow, building upon our record of delivering the island’s essential passenger air services through the Covid-19 pandemic. It represents an excellent springboard for future developments as and when circumstances allow, and this will include creation of local employment in the Isle of Man to fly Loganair’s services.”
