Supporting the calls of many Midland’s and Cornish travellers, the new daily flights will commence on Friday 10th February, in time for the half-term break. With a flight time of little over and hour, operating on a low-emission 72-seat ATR aircraft, this will save almost ten hours compared to surface transport options on a round-trip. With fares starting from £68.99 one-way including a hold-bag, the service will operate year-round and complement the existing Cornwall Airport Newquay – London Gatwick and Humberside links.

Roger Hage, Commercial Director, Eastern Airways, said: “This is a major step in growing connectivity to the Cornwall base and the only Midlands service to the South-West of England. By adding East-Midlands Airport with the major cities of Nottingham, Derby, Leicester all within 30-minutes and Sheffield within an hour, this welcome addition to the domestic network at East-Midlands will aid those who travel for business, visit friends and family or seek a welcome leisure break with the need for international travel. 

“Adding the new destination of Newquay, this significantly improves access to the UK staycation destination of choice. We want to ensure the right services are being offered given Eastern Airways is all about supporting the regions of the UK, connecting people and places, so growing our Cornish network and capacity is a crucial part of increasing connectivity and aiding economic recovery to both business and the UK’s vital tourism sector where sustainable.”

Welcoming today’s news, Steve Griffiths, East Midlands Airport’s Managing Director, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Eastern Airways who are a perfect fit for East Midlands Airport. We know many passengers choose this airport because we’re easy to get to and easy to get through. With a flight time of 1 hour and 20 mins, it will be so much quicker to reach one of the most beautiful coastlines in the UK and will be very welcome news to the thousands of people in this region who regularly make the almost 300-mile trip to Cornwall for holidays. The new connectivity will boost tourism, benefit our regional economies, and help establish links between complementary business sectors across the Midlands and the Southwest of England. We very much look forward to welcoming passengers who will start using this service in February next year.”

Sam O’ Dwyer, Managing Director, Cornwall Airport Newquay commented: “As we continue to welcome a significant expansion of our route network here at Cornwall Airport Newquay, we are so pleased Eastern Airways has announced a new daily connection between the East Midlands and the Southwest. Our research and passenger feedback has shown there is much demand for a link into the Midlands region from Cornwall, combined with more capacity into London, and the doubling of flights into Humberside is fantastic news.  Eastern Airways has been serving Cornwall since 2020 and these latest announcements provide a clear indication of its continued commitment to ensure our customers have more choice available to them when travelling within the UK throughout the year.”

The UK’s regional airline will operate the daily service on one if its fleet of 72-seat ATR aircraft, offering one of the lowest fuel-burn and emissions in the market today. This has included operating on SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel). 

All Eastern Airways fares include taxes and charges, a generous 10kg hand baggage allowance and a 15kg checked baggage as standard. Book directly at www.easternairways.com for seat-only or via the travel partners for package options. 

Today, Eastern Airways have also announced a new daily Humberside-Esbjerg service to meet the need of the clean-tech energy sector, complimenting the increase to year-round three-times daily London Gatwick - Cornwall Airport Newquay, a doubling of the Cornwall Airport Newquay – Humberside frequency to four-weekly plus increased Newcastle - Aberdeen to twice daily among various capacity and frequency increases around the network.