According to multiple sources, British Airways is throwing in the towel on the London Gatwick to Manchester route.
The service will be terminated from 31st March 2013, with three rotations a day lost.
In a statement, Britsh Airways says:
“British Airways retains a strong presence in Manchester where it currently employs over 400 staff at the airport, at the airline’s call centre and BA CityFlyer head office in Didsbury.
“In addition to the Heathrow flights, there are two flights a day to Billund and two to Gothenberg that fly in British Airways colours from Manchester, operated by franchise partner SunAir.”
Flights to London Heathrow will continue to operate – running up to 11 rotations a day between the two cities, with British Airways having an air-monopoly between London and Manchester.
It also shows some of the problems that the Gatwick operation has – whilst long haul services seem to be doing very well, short haul and domestic has always had a problem turning a profit – even after it took over Dan Air and British Caledonian.
Hopefully, other services won’t be impacted too much – although leisure connections from north of England will require a bit more thought…
Bye bye London Airways.
Yet another reason for MAN passengers to transfer at ABL (Anywhere But London)