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While airlines would decide which flights to operate based on their ability to bring in traffic and thus generate revenue, making decisions based on traffic alone would leave many rural areas isolated from the rest of the country and the world.
In the United States, government programs such as Essential Air Service (EAS) and Small Community Air Service Development (SCASDP) Support some unprofitable methods To meet the needs of specific communities. In the United Kingdom, funds for such routes are allocated through the Public Service Obligations (PSO) program designed to ensure transport connectivity throughout the country’s territory.
In 2021, the British government has allocated £4.3 million (about US$5.76 million under the current rate) to Financing two direct flights To London from Newquay in the far west of Cornwall and Dundee in northern Scotland.
The flight from Newquay Airport (NQY) to London Gatwick (LGW) was previously operated up to twice daily by Eastern Airways, but has been taken over by Skybus on the Titan Airways ATR 72 after the former airline It collapsed due to lack of funds In November 2025.
The local council has announced that flights between Cornwall and London Gatwick are 80% empty.
The Skybus shuttle solved the immediate problem of restarting a route flown by no other airline, but as lawmakers revealed at a Cornwall Council meeting on 13 January, the flight was up to 80% empty, while Newquay Airport still owes £1.6m in airport fees from Eastern Airlines.
Given that the airline collapsed into bankruptcy, the regional airport is It is unlikely that the fee will ever be recovered Unless something is set through the filtering process.
With the collapse of Channel Islands-based regional airline Blue Islands in November 2024, Skybus was also left without some of the smaller aircraft it had been using to operate the route.
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“This left Skybus with two options – cancel the route and leave Cornwall without a vital air link or find a solution at very short notice,” councilor and chairman Conor Donnithorne said during the meeting.
“They have chosen to keep the route going especially as Eastern Airlines unexpectedly ceased operations just weeks ago, leaving Cornwall without the PSO route and all important daily activities to London.”
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“The only plane immediately available was much larger than ideal.”
Donnithorne went on to explain that “the only aircraft immediately available was much larger than ideal and had not traditionally been used on regional routes,” but a 78-seat Bombardier Q400. It has been customized It used to run from January 14th.
However, headlines about empty seats caused immediate outrage among some Cornwall residents, who felt the tax money was going towards a flight that only a few people were taking, and not towards the region’s most pressing needs.
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“If it’s 80% empty, it’s clearly not an essential service,” one resident told a local outlet. Cornwall Live. “Why should the rest of us support it? It’s time to stop the flights.”
But as lawmakers and other residents have argued, the numbers drawn at a given time aren’t enough to justify cutting a trip short, especially when canceling it entirely would leave a remote community with no or very limited transportation options.
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