EasyJet toend flightsfrom airport

Martin Slack

MANAGERS at Yorkshire’s newest airport yesterday announced that a national airline had pulled its services, just six months after they were launched.

Budget flight specialist easyJet said it had decided to abandon operations from Robin Hood Airport in Doncaster from January 4 as a result of poor passenger numbers.

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Flights to Amsterdam, Barcelona, Faro, Palma and Prague began on April 19 and airport and airline executives predicted a bright future for the services.

But yesterday Robin Hood Airport’s director of aviation sales Nick Smillie admitted flights to Amsterdam had been just 72 per cent full, leading to the easyJet decision.

He blamed the low passenger numbers on the scheduling of the flight, which leaves at 2pm daily, making it unattractive to business travellers and operational restrictions which affected the viability of the operation.

He added: “We are naturally very disappointed by easyJet’s decision to withdraw flights from Doncaster Sheffield Airport. However, where schedules have been favourable, aircraft have been flying up to 99 per cent full. This provides us with strong evidence of demand for flights from Doncaster Sheffield.”