Winter scheduling and the demise of Air Southwest and its domestic routes, had left Newquay Airport with just a handful of flight destinations by the end of last year. Flybe have now reversed the trend by providing 7 routes in their summer scheduling, the first being a brand new route to Norwich International Airport.

Flights to East Anglia’s main airport will begin operating twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays between 5 May and 22 September. (see timetables) Norwich Timetables

This will benefit the population in both areas as each are favourite holiday destinations. Norwich although set in the heart of East Anglia is just 20 miles from the coast, so there’s easy access to Norfolk’s fantastic beaches and traditional seaside resorts like Southwold and Cromer. 

Also on the door step is Great Yarmouth and the Norfolk Broads,where over two million people visit every year, exploring by land or water or a combination of both.

The City of Norwich its self is well worth a visit. Once having the largest medieval wall around the city, Norwich is still the most complete medieval city in Britain. Strolling through the winding medieval lanes around the impressive Castle and beautiful Romanesque Cathedral you will find a modern cultural city with beautiful heritage, vibrant nightlife, sophisticated shopping and plenty of restaurants.

From the Airport there is easy access to the city centre by Bus and Taxi which is just 4 mile s away.

Technorati Tags: flights from newquay, flybe, newquay to norwich, norwich, norwich airport

After being taken over by Eastern Airways in September, Air Southwest has announced it is cancelling its London Gatwick service from 1st February.

Previously in May last year, Air Southwest withdrew its flights from London City Airport due to plummeting passenger numbers and had warned that the airline would continue to seek ways to cut cost to ensure it would survive. Further falls in passenger numbers and a planned 18 per cent increase in landing fees at the London hub are believed to be behind the decision.

The Devon and Cornwall Business Council has called the move a ‘major blow’ for its local economy. Council official Tim Jones said  that many local business leaders weren’t surprised at the news however, and rather saw it as an inevitable event due to the high costs associated with service to Gatwick Airport.

Flybe are now the only airline with flights from London to the West Country and It is thought more than 4,000 passengers will switch to Flybe’s Newquay to Gatwick service as a result of the move.

Passengers all ready booked on Air Southwest’s withdrawn London service have been offered alternative air and rail transport.

Flybe will be offering an alternative flight on the same route free of charge and First Great Western will also honour tickets with Customers who wish to take up the offer, e-mailing FGW’s business travel with contact details and a copy of their Air Southwest ticket or booking confirmation.

The rest of Air Southwest’s schedule to other destinations has not been affected.

Gatwick to Newquay Timetable

Technorati Tags: air southwest, eastern airways, gatwick to newquay, london to newquay

Air Southwest has announced it is to scrap its flights to the centre of London from Newquay and Plymouth.

The airline launched the London City Airport route just over a year ago primarily with  business travelers in mind. Unfortunately the twice-daily route has not attracted enough passengers to make it viable. Factors like the high cost of landing slots at London City Airport, disruptions caused by the cold weather at the start of the year and the impact of the volcanic ash crisis, forced the airline to review the service.

Only last week Air Southwest revealed that the volcanic ash-induced six day closure of the skies, had cost it £300,000 and warned then that they would be reviewing their network to see how it could “mitigate” against these costs.

Air Southwest’s Managing director Peter Davies said: “We have to concentrate on what’s in the best interests of the majority of our customers and make the very best use of our resources in what remains a tough climate for aviation.“That, compounded by the bad weather at the start of the year and the recent volcanic ash crisis which was costly for all airlines, has led to today’s decision.”

Chief executive of Plymouth Chamber of Commerce David Parlby, said the news was “very disappointing” and was surprised that the service was not better supported.“I have flown that route and I think it is great to be able to get from the centre of London so quickly. When Air Southwest introduced it we thought it was fantastic for the business community and a lot of our members have used it,” he said.

Air Southwest will maintain its four times daily flights to Gatwick, but will cease flights to London City from May 21.

Technorati Tags: air southwest, london city airport, london city airport flights, newquay airport

This has affected flights from Newquay Airport in that at least seven out of the day’s 17 flights, going to the likes of London Gatwick, Newcastle and Dublin, have been cancelled.

The ash comes from a volcano under a glacier in the Eyjafjallajoekull area of Iceland about 75 miles east of Reykjavik which has been asleep for nearly 200 years.

The eruption is the second in the country in less than a month and caused local authorities to  evacuate over 800 residents from around the glacier as rivers rose by up to 10 feet. This second eruption however has been 10 to 20 times more powerful than the first.

Volcanic ash is very hazardous to aircraft. Visibility is obviously a problem but also the ash is finer than talcum powder and ash dust entering engines  can cause partial or total engine power loss. The ash can also damage aircraft ventilation, hydraulic, electronic and air data systems.

Hopes are that this plume of ash will soon disperse and flights can resume but volcanoes are very unpredictable and a bigger worry is that a blast from another much larger volcano Katla, which is located under the vast Myrdalsjokull ice cap, is also well overdue.

Other sites that may be of interest.

• Psyche, Science, and Society » Another effect of global warming … – The reason is that one cubic meter of ice weighs just over a ton, and glaciers can be hundreds of meters thick. When they melt and the water runs off, it is literally a weight off Earth’s crust. The crust and mantle therefore bounce …

• Warning on Health Effects of Volcanic Ash – While North America has not been affected by the volcanic eruption in Iceland (with the exception of air travel), volcanic ash is reported to have adverse health effects. The World Health Organization (WHO) today released a warning to …

• Volcanic Islands and Solar Panels on the 38th Parallel «University … – Mayfair Yang on religious traditions in China: http://tinyurl. Help us choose the cover of the forthcoming Autobiography of Mark Twain: http://tinyurl. While ash from the volcano in Iceland eclipsed the sky in much of Northern Europe, David and Janet Carle explored the volcanic Azores islands in the Atlantic, looking at worldwide water issues along the 38th parallel.

Technorati Tags: flights from newquay, Iceland, newquay flights, volcanic ash