Air Southwest launches Newcastle services

Regional airline Air Southwest has launched services connecting Plymouth and Cornwall in south-west England with Newcastle in the north-east.

A lookalike of Francis Drake, the most famous historical figure associated with Plymouth, landed at Newcastle Airport on the inaugural flight and was greeted by airport representative Chris Sanders.

Mike Coombes, deputy chief executive of Air Southwest, who also boarded the first flight between Plymouth and Newcastle, said he was confident that the economy in the north-east will benefit from a boost in business and leisure passengers.

Mr Sanders, head of airline relations and development at Newcastle, added: "Today's launch of new flights with Air Southwest is a real endorsement of our services at Newcastle Airport.

"The south-west offers so much for people living in the north-east and forging connections between the two regions will become much easier with these air links."

This year has also seen expansion in Newcastle's overseas routes, with Eastern Airways launching a non-stop service to Stavanger in Norway and Dubai-based airline Emirates set to offer services from the airport in September.