Business and tourism chiefs have called for the urgent restoration of a direct air link between the north-east and London.
In February Easy Jet ended its service between Aberdeen Airport and Gatwick citing low demand from passengers.
But the decision has prompted an outcry from the local business community who claim it will make it more difficult to maintain links with the country’s financial capital, at a time when the region’s economy is still attempting to recover from the North Sea downturn.
The airport’s location also means that it is easier for people to get to the south-east of England in a more efficient manner.
Now a group which promotes the interests of the airport and north-east air travellers has called for the “essential” service to be restored.
The Aberdeen International Airport Consultative Committee (AIACC) is made up of representatives from organisations such as the Chamber of Commerce, Aberdeenshire and city councils as well as passengers.
A letter written by Dr Peter Smart, the chairman of the organisation, states: “Our view is that whoever takes on the route should take note of the requirements of Aberdeen-originating travellers in respect of travel to London and the south-east of England for business meetings, of travellers interlining at LGW (London Gatwick) and of those making leisure flights to visit friends and relatives.
“The route therefore needs to be reliable, sustainable in the long-term, and of sufficient frequency to make the route a route of choice for travellers for the north-east of Scotland and the south-east of England and London.”
There was fresh misery for air travellers last month when Eastern Airways confirmed it would axe flights between Aberdeen and London City from next month.
The airline operate the service on behalf of Flybe, which stepped in to secure the air link between Aberdeen and London City Airport in 2014 following a campaign by The Press and Journal.
Colin Clark, MP for Gordon, has been lobbying airlines to step in and take over the services.
He said: “The end of a frequent Easy Jet flights between Aberdeen and London Gatwick, then Aberdeen to London City with Flybe, is unacceptable.
“That isn’t the fault of the airport. In fact, Aberdeen has gone from strength to strength.
“The committee is clear – only an operator in the image of BA, Dan Air and Flybe will give the north-east customer a reliable service.
“I have raised the prospect of Aberdeen’s growth many times at Westminster, not least because the development of Heathrow’s third runway is going to open up opportunities for more flights in the north-east.”
The AIACC letter calls for a similar flight schedule to Flybe’s to be reinstated.
Previous services arrived in the UK capital early in the morning allowing for people to attend meetings as early as 9.30am.
The letter also claims that this allowed for better connections to long-haul flights to destinations like the Caribbean and the USA.
And Dr Smart further calls the route a “lifeline” for people from the north-east who wanted to visit family and friends in the south-east of England.
However when Easy Jet took over the route the timings of their flights made this more difficult.
It states: “The Easy Jet schedule by comparison did not offer access to London and the south-east of England for business travellers to attend same day meetings (arrival of the LGW service was not until 10.15).
“Nor did it offer connectivity to morning long-haul flights from or to LGW, requiring travellers to make an overnight stay at the airport.
“In addition, for much of the year, Easy Jet did not offer an evening rotation to ABZ every day – thus much potential business travel leached to other routes.”
