Hopes of a budget airline flight between Aberdeen and Heathrow have been dashed after Flybe suspended plans to take up slots at the UK’s busiest airport in a spat over charges.
Saad Hammad, the chief executive of Flybe, yesterday announced that a formal bid to muscle in on BA’s monopoly over services between Aberdeen and Heathrow would be put on hold – unless the London airport did more to reduce costs on its “rigid charging regime” for smaller aircraft.
Flybe said the suspension means it would not press ahead with “a number” of routes to and from Scotland from the end of October.
Mr Hammad said the ball was now in the court of the London airport to see if the flights would go ahead and urged the airline and its stakeholders to “rethink”.
He said: “A decision regarding Flybe’s start of commercial operations to and from Heathrow is now wholly dependent on the relevant stakeholders, led primarily by Heathrow.
“A regional airline with smaller aircraft cannot connect the UK regions viably to Heathrow without appropriate concessions and support.
“It is clear that the allocation of Heathrow slots to domestic regional operators is futile if the airport’s rigid charging regime cannot be adjusted to accommodate smaller aircraft.
“It is unreasonable to expect operators of 78-118 seat aircraft to absorb the same charges levied on carriers operating those with 850 or more.”
He added that Flybe had been “encouraged by the constructive spirit” demonstrated by Heathrow in making “a mutually agreeable outcome” – including the offer of a £10 per passenger discount from January 2017.
“Sadly, however, this is not enough,” he said. “Flybe is keen to give Heathrow and other stakeholders time for a rethink.”
Currently Flybe connects Aberdeen with the capital via flights to City Airport. It does not fly to any airport in London from Inverness.
Last month Mr Hammad confirmed a formal bid had gone in for runway slots at the capital airport that were previously used by Virgin Atlantic’s Little Red operation.
Little Red folded last autumn, two-and-a-half years after start-up for its services to Heathrow from Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Manchester, with Virgin blaming weaker-than-expected demand.
Flybe also “vowed” to continue lobbying the UK government for RAF Northolt in West London to be used for scheduled commercial flights while the debate continued on expansion plans for either Heathrow or Gatwick.
Currently the military-controlled base is open only to private jets.
A decision on airport expansion in south-eastern England was delayed until “at least October” following the UK’s Brexit vote, which triggered a leadership contest in the Conservative government.
