Two Norwich Airport routes axed
01.07.08
The 67 percent increase in the controversial passenger fees at Norwich Airport has claimed its first victim after Thomson axed two winter routes, the Evening News reports. The holiday firm has announced it will no longer operate winter flights to Gran Canaria and Tenerife, saying that they were no longer commercially viable after the airport's decision to up the Airport Development Fee (ADF) from £3 to £5 per passenger from September.
Passengers booked on the weekly flights to the Canaries this winter will see their services cancelled and rearranged through different airports, including as Luton and Stansted. The move follows the decision by the airport's main operator Flybe to scrap direct flights to Paris and Glasgow and reduce flights to Guernsey from Norwich in April this year.
A spokeswoman for Thomson told the newspaper: ‘We appreciate that route changes can be inconvenient and apologise to any customers who may have been affected by the decision to operate summer flights only out of Norwich airport.'
‘There has recently been a review into the profitability of these winter routes, partially due to the increase in the Airport Development Fee this year, and the conclusion has been made that winter routes from Norwich Airport are no longer commercially viable.’
The spokeswoman added that its summer flights to the Canaries and other Spanish destinations, as well as Corfu, Malta and Cyprus, would be unaffected.
An airport spokesman told the newspaper that the winter flights to Gran Canaria and Tenerife had been popular and that alternative flights to Tenerife were available. The airport trying to find alternative operators to Gran Canaria.
The spokesman said: ‘This is not because of a lack of popularity. The flights were more than 90 percent full last winter. Tenerife flights with Thomas Cook are still available from Norwich. We are waiting for confirmation from another airline for alternative flights to Gran Canaria.’
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