UK regional carrier Loganair will expand the frequency of its City of Derry to London Heathrow service this summer.
It follows the recent announcement of the future of the route being copper-fastened on the back of new funding from the Northern Ireland Executive.
The move also forms part of Loganair’s expansion of its entire Heathrow operations; which also fly to the Shetland Islands, Orkney and the Isle of Man.
Loganair – the largest regional airline in the UK – flies from Scotland and England to Ireland via Dublin, Donegal, Belfast and Derry.
The City of Derry expansion will see a third Sunday flight between it and Heathrow.
Customers travelling from Derry will also enjoy more flexibility with the afternoon service departing at lunchtime, arriving in Heathrow shortly thereafter and opening up a far broader range of connections to British Airways worldwide flights and those of Loganair’s other airline partners.
In the evening, the Heathrow-bound service will now depart City of Derry 40 minutes earlier at 5.30pm and the final flight of the day from Heathrow will also leave at a more convenient time of 7.45pm to arrive in City of Derry at 9.10pm, some 35 minutes earlier than today.
Luke Lovegrove, Loganair’s Chief Commercial Officer said: “Our routes to Heathrow have gone from strength to strength since we started our services from T2 last April and, with both the Elizabeth Line and Heathrow Express rapid connections linking Heathrow with central London, the improvements to flight times assure a full working day in London.
“We continue to fly to and from some of the most remote destinations in the country, and this summer will provide unrivalled regional connectivity for these areas, led by customer demand.”
Alyson Playford, Aviation Director, Heathrow said: “It is fantastic to see Loganair expand their services at Heathrow, connecting some of the most remote parts of the country to the UK’s hub airport.
“Our longstanding commitment to domestic connectivity ensures the whole country can access the world’s economy through our network of more than 200 destinations. We look forward to welcoming even more Loganair passengers at Heathrow this summer.”
All Loganair fares include checked baggage allowance and, on flights of over 45 minutes scheduled time on Embraer and ATR aircraft, complimentary in-flight refreshments.
