Loganair announces Isle of Man to Heathrow flights from December

The new route will replace Loganair's service between the island and London City

Scottish airline Loganair has said it is to launch a service between the Isle of Man and London Heathrow in December.

It will replace the operator's flights from the island to London City airport which it took over from BA subsidiary BA CityFlyer in September.

Infrastructure Minister Tim Baker said it was important to maintain "connectivity to and from the island".

A short-lived Heathrow route run by Flybe was axed in October 2019 prior to the airline's collapse in March.

Loganair chief executive Jonathan Hinkles said he was "heartened" to restore the island's Heathrow links.

He said the deal represented an "excellent springboard for future developments" that would include the "creation of local employment".

The service, which is due to begin on 1 December, will be operated using a 49-seat Embraer jet.

It will initially run six return flights each week, between Sunday and Friday, with an additional Saturday service being introduced on 19 December.

Mr Baker said the route had been underwritten by the Manx government as air services were not "commercially viable" at this time due to the island's border restrictions.

At present, only Manx residents, those with exemptions for compassionate reasons and key workers are allowed to travel to and from the Isle of Man.

The contract with Loganair, which already operates flights from the island to Liverpool and Manchester, is due to run until 27 March.