Airline to resume Southampton link from Manchester Airport
UK regional airline, Eastern Airways, will resume its growing network of routes from Manchester Airport, initially including Southampton, from next week.
From Monday, June 22, an initial daily weekday service to Southampton will be the first to be resumed.
The frequency of services will be increased as appropriate through July, August and September to help restore the business and leisure connections to help the economic recovery of the North West.
Following the demise of Flybe, Eastern Airways quickly stepped in to protect regional connectivity to Southampton on an expanding network prior to the COVID-19 travel restrictions.
As restrictions begin to ease, services will be carefully reintroduced with extensive cleaning measures on-board and throughout all aspects of the airport.
The safety of all customers, in addition to all staff, will be paramount throughout the journey, including airports and on board the aircraft.
Roger Hage, Eastern Airways’ general manager commercial & operations, said: “We are pleased to announce that our initial Manchester to Southampton flights are returning from 22nd June with a carefully considered re-start frequency to support the major regions of the UK and ensure regional connectivity returns, given its vital role in recovering economic prosperity.
“We will continue to increase frequency, including the return of weekend services, as demand returns, along with adding new routes to our network.
“All services will ensure the safest procedures for our customer care are offered in conjunction with our airport partners.”
Julian Carr, aviation director at Manchester Airport, said: “It’s great to see Eastern Airways resume its service to Southampton from Manchester Airport, providing vital connectivity between the two regions and beyond.
“With a host of safety measures already in place, the security of all our passengers and staff continues to be our number one priority as we connect people to places domestically and internationally.”
Initially Eastern Airways’ usual complementary on board service will be limited to facilitate reduced customer contact.
A full anti-bacterial wipe down of all touch points between every service operated and a comprehensive night-stop sanitisation will be implemented.
All fares will include 15kg of complementary hold baggage as part of a quality service.
The independent operator, which was formed in 1997, had moved quickly prior to the COVID-19 pandemic to return to its own standalone booking facilities after its former franchise partner, Flybe, went into administration earlier in March.
The Humberside Airport-based carrier provides a network of routes from airports including Aberdeen, Alicante, Anglesey, Belfast City, Cardiff, Dublin, Humberside, Isle of Man, Leeds Bradford, London City, Manchester, Newcastle, Southampton, Teesside International and Wick John O’Groats.
